iShares Silver Trust (SLV), the largest silver-backed exchange traded fund (ETF), has somehow defied the price of silver dropping.

While silver has lost 40% of its value, the holdings within SLV have only gone up to a record 6,474.04 tonnes of average 1,000 oz. silver bars, reports Melissa Pestini for Silver Investing News.

Any thoughts of silver being dumped once the silver bull market cooled off seem to have dissipated, as investors don’t appear to be panicking with the metal. Instead, they’re taking advantage of the lower prices so that they can buy more of it. ETFs are a nice package for investors looking to buy silver, as prices are low, and there is no physical delivery.

Silver will always have a demand, as it has dated back to ancient times, and is used for jewelry, high-end tableware, currency coins, utensils and electrical contacts. Contacts and conductors are popular uses, and antimicrobial and antibiotic uses for silver are being tested right now.

SLV is down 8.5% year-to-date.

Tags: Currency ETFs, Precious Metals, Silver, SLV