---
title: "Why Andy Schectman Thinks Silver’s Future Won’t Be Decided in the West"
url: "https://www.readplaza.com/articles/why-andy-schectman-thinks-silvers-future-wont-be-decided-in-the-west"
type: "article"
publisher: "Commodity Culture"
category: "Market Commentary"
published: "2026-07-16T16:45:00+00:00"
updated: "2026-08-21T11:03:06.021469+00:00"
reading_time_minutes: 7
tags: ["Silver", "Gold"]
---

# Why Andy Schectman Thinks Silver’s Future Won’t Be Decided in the West
There is a real shift underway in the precious metals market, and Andy Schectman’s argument is that it is much bigger than a short-term move in price. In our latest Commodity Culture conversation, he laid out why silver remains structurally undervalued, why central bank gold buying is likely far larger than the official numbers suggest, and why the global center of price discovery may be starting to move away from the West.

At the center of his thesis is a simple distinction: price is not the same thing as value. In the short term, precious metals prices are still heavily influenced by futures markets, macro funds, and rate expectations. But over time, Schectman argues, physical demand, sovereign accumulation, and new delivery-based trading hubs in the East will matter far more than the paper price investors are watching today.

Why Gold Can Fall During WarOne of the more counterintuitive parts of the interview was Schectman’s explanation for why gold and silver often fall when war headlines intensify. Rather than focusing on the usual “selling what is liquid first” explanation, he argued that the short-term price is still set in futures markets, where algorithms and macro funds react to expectations around central bank policy rather than physical safe-haven demand.

In other words, if the market believes a conflict will keep inflation elevated and force the Fed to stay tight, metals can sell off even while the long-term case for owning them gets stronger. Schectman’s view is that this is a short-term distortion, not a long-term invalidation of the safe-haven thesis.

Silver’s Price Still Does Not Reflect Its ValueSchectman was clear that silver’s current price still does not make sense when compared with the fundamental backdrop. The market is now in its sixth consecutive year of structural deficit according to the Silver Institute, mine supply is not rising enough to close the gap, and silver is increasingly being recognized not just as a monetary metal but as a critical mineral tied to industrial and military demand.

That is why he warned against confusing frustration with failure. A market can stay irrational for a long time, especially when the short-term price is being set by paper trading, but that does not mean the thesis is broken. If anything, Schectman’s argument is that the case for silver is strengthening while the paper price still misleads investors about its real importance.

The Silver Market May Be Repricing in the EastThis was the most important part of the conversation. Schectman believes the silver market is gradually shifting from Western paper pricing toward Eastern delivery-based pricing. He pointed to the buildout of precious metals infrastructure in Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, Shanghai, Moscow, St. Petersburg, Mumbai, and Brazil as signs that a new price discovery ecosystem is being constructed in real time.

His point was not that COMEX is about to collapse tomorrow. It was that the West may no longer be the only venue that matters, and once multiple real-liquidity hubs are setting prices with a stronger emphasis on physical delivery, it becomes much harder for paper positioning alone to dictate the market indefinitely. If that transition continues, the gap between price and value may begin to close very quickly.

Why Central Banks Keep Buying GoldSchectman also spent a large part of the interview on central bank gold buying. He argued that official numbers likely understate the true scale of accumulation and pointed out that central banks have now been buying more than 1,000 tons annually for several years, regardless of price.

That price-insensitive behavior matters. Central banks are not momentum traders. They are accumulating an asset that carries no counterparty risk and cannot be printed, while at the same time many countries are repatriating their gold and reducing reliance on Treasuries. Whether this leads to a formal reset or simply a more multipolar reserve system, Schectman’s view is that the footprints are too consistent to ignore.

Treasuries, Real Yields, and the Bigger RiskThe interview also pushed back on the standard argument that higher Treasury yields are necessarily bad for gold. Schectman’s point was that nominal yields are less important than real returns after inflation, and if inflation is running hotter than official measures suggest, then even a seemingly attractive T-bill yield may still leave savers losing purchasing power.

That is where the sovereign debt issue comes into focus. In his view, the system is trapped: keep rates high and the debt burden becomes harder to finance, or cut rates and risk reigniting inflation. That dilemma is exactly why he believes central banks continue to accumulate gold while the broader public remains distracted by short-term price moves.

The Shift From Dollars to Hard AssetsSchectman framed the larger geopolitical story not simply as de-dollarization, but as a slow move away from Treasuries and toward hard assets and alternative settlement rails. He described BRICS-related infrastructure, new payment systems, and expanding bullion networks as evidence that more countries are preparing for a world where the dollar system matters less at the margin, even if it does not disappear overnight.

That is an important distinction. He is not calling for an abrupt end to US financial dominance tomorrow. He is saying the parallel system is already being built, and in that system, gold and silver are likely to play a much larger role in reserve management, collateral, and settlement than most Western investors currently appreciate.

The Big MessageWhat makes Schectman’s thesis compelling is that it ties together several developments that are often discussed separately: central bank gold buying, silver deficits, critical minerals policy, sovereign debt stress, and the rise of alternative trading and payment systems. Taken together, his message is that the market is changing under the surface even if the headline prices still look confused.

For investors, that means the real risk may not be volatility in precious metals. The real risk may be waiting too long for the paper market to validate a value shift that sovereign buyers and central banks already seem to understand.

My ReadWith Andy's call that silver markets are moving East and that the price will eventually be set by physical delivery, not futures contracts, the obvious play is stacking physical silver, particularly with how far the price has fallen since hitting all-time highs earlier this year.

I have personally been taking advantage of these prices to add silver bullion, and I think that although they could go lower, the tailwinds behind the metal are stronger than they've ever been. I need to stress, I am a long-term holder of physical metals, I do not trade in and out, and I do not buy metals to make a profit. I am protecting my purchasing power and most importantly, storing my wealth outside of counterparty risk.

My plan is likely to hold onto my silver in a time frame measured in decades, not months or years. Of course, an insane parabolic move would certainly be reason to take some profits, but I will always keep a baseline quantity of silver in my portfolio.

One thing that doesn't come up often enough is, how do you sell your silver? It sounds simple, but if the price does run to new all-time highs and you decide to cash in, you generally have to call around to precious metals shops and negotiate price, assuming they aren't flooded with sellers and aren't even interested in buying. This is why I think stacking huge amounts of silver can be problematic, unless you plan to store it as generational wealth.

Something to consider as this bull market advances.