SILVER Act could bring critical financial infrastructure to Idaho | Opinion

Idaho has long been one of America’s great resource-producing states. From the silver mines of the Silver Valley to the growing network of precious metals businesses operating across the West, Idaho plays an outsized role in supplying materials that are essential to both the U.S. economy and national security.

Yet despite Idaho’s importance to the nation’s precious metals industry, the state has been formally locked out of a critical piece of America’s financial infrastructure.

That should change.

Thanks to Rep. Russ Fulcher and Sen. Jim Risch, Congress now has an opportunity to modernize the nation’s precious metals market through legislation known as the System Integrity through Licensed Vault Expansion & Resilience Act — aptly named the SILVER Act (SB 4621 and H.R. 8007).

This bipartisan bill — introduced in both chambers of Congress in recent weeks and supported by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission — may sound technical, but its implications are significant for Idaho and for the country as a whole.

Today, all depositories approved to store metals for delivery into America’s regulated precious metals futures markets are concentrated within a narrow corridor near New York City. This remarkable geographic concentration is enforced via outdated exchange rules that ignore the realities that gold, silver, platinum and palladium are produced, refined, fabricated, transported and traded throughout the United States.

Concentration creates obvious vulnerabilities, security risks and costs.

If a terrorist attack, cyber event, natural disaster, infrastructure failure or other disruption were to affect New York City and surrounding areas, critical settlement and delivery functions for America’s precious metals markets could be severely impaired. A failure in the gold market, in particular, could have dramatic systemic risk implications for the entire U.S. financial system and the dollar itself.

Geographic diversification is a basic principle of resilience. We apply it to energy systems, telecommunications networks, transportation infrastructure, data centers and much more. America’s precious metals markets should be no different.

Supported by a broad industry coalition, the SILVER Act would encourage regulators and market operators to consider geographic concentration risk when evaluating depositories seeking approval to participate in public exchange markets. It would not require any particular facility to be approved. Instead, it would establish a more transparent and objective process that allows qualified facilities throughout the country to compete.

For Idaho, the opportunity is particularly compelling.

The Gem State already possesses many of the ingredients needed to support expanded precious metals infrastructure. Idaho has a rich mining heritage, world-class silver production, a strategic western location, reliable transportation networks and a growing ecosystem of businesses connected to the precious metals economy.

If qualified Idaho depositories were eventually permitted to participate in regulated exchange markets, the benefits could extend far beyond the vaulting industry itself.

The state could attract additional investment in logistics, transportation, insurance, security services, refining, fabrication and financial services. New infrastructure would support not only investors but also mining companies, manufacturers and industrial users throughout the region. Skilled jobs would follow.

More importantly, Idaho would become more deeply integrated into the nation’s financial architecture and would become more relevant.

For decades, much of America’s financial infrastructure has been concentrated on the East Coast. Yet the metals that underpin modern industry and increasingly serve as strategic financial assets are produced largely elsewhere. Allowing western states such as Idaho to host approved exchange depositories would better align the nation’s financial infrastructure with the realities of its resource economy.

There are also practical economic benefits.

Storage and transportation costs in many western states are substantially lower than in the New York region. Greater competition among depositories could reduce expenses for market participants while improving access and liquidity. Investors, businesses, and institutions would gain more choices regarding where to store their precious metals.

Many Americans prefer to keep assets closer to where they live and conduct business. Providing additional approved storage locations could encourage more participation in regulated markets rather than driving metals outside the exchange system altogether.

At a time when policymakers are increasingly focused on strengthening domestic supply chains, rebuilding strategic industries and reducing systemic vulnerabilities, the current concentration of precious metals market infrastructure deserves far more attention than it receives.

Precious metals are not merely investment products. Gold, silver, platinum, and palladium are essential components in electronics, aerospace systems, medical technologies, energy infrastructure, and defense manufacturing. The resilience of these markets is directly connected to America’s broader economic and national security interests.

The SILVER Act offers a practical and commonsense reform. By promoting competition, reducing concentration risk, encouraging regional participation and strengthening supply-chain resilience, the legislation would help modernize a critical segment of America’s financial system.

For Idaho, it presents something more: an opportunity to leverage the state’s natural strengths, attract investment, expand infrastructure, and play a larger role in both the national economy and the financial systems that support it.

A state that helps produce America’s precious metals should also have the opportunity to help safeguard and store them.

Stefan Gleason is CEO of Money Metals Exchange, a leading U.S. precious metals dealer and depository that employs 150 employees in Eagle, Idaho.