Time For a Silver Volatility Spread?

A bet against boredom

2025 was the year silver stackers were waiting for. The metal blew through $40/oz, then $50 and $60 without a backward glance, and is now testing $70. Many of you are suddenly rich. Nicely done!

But now we’re in an interesting place. Silver’s chart screams “overbought, correction imminent!” while its fundamentals make a parabolic spike a distinct possibility in the coming year. So what should we do?

Generally speaking, if you’re stacking physical, just keep on with it and don’t sweat the squiggles. Triple-digit silver is inevitable, and you want to be locked and loaded when it arrives.

Still, a quick, sharp correction can’t be discounted. Extreme volatility, up or down, could be silver’s story in 2026.

Enter the Volatility Spread

There’s a simple options strategy for times like this. It’s called a volatility spread, and involves buying mirror-image calls and puts for a given security.

The goal is for the security’s price to either spike or plunge, giving the winning option a gain large enough to offset the loss on the losing option. Put another way, you’re betting against consolidation, where the asset just sits there. Put yet another way, you’re long action and short boredom.

To illustrate the point (and get in on the fun), I just bought “at the money” September puts and calls on SLV, the ETF that tracks the silver price. Here’s how they show up in my account:

SLV 09/30/2026 63.50 C
SLV 09/30/2026 63.50 P

The premiums for each option were around $10, so silver must make a serious near-term move for this spread to deliver a substantial payoff. But it’s an extreme time for the metal, so it’s possible that we’ll see at least a modest profit (and maybe some excitement) in the year ahead.

If you’re new to options, consider this a low-risk way to familiarize yourself with the concept.