This is actually a difficult question to answer...not because the simile is a hard one, but because anyone who answers this question will have already read the book; we already know what Daisy is like. The question is far more asked of someone who is reading the book for the first time and still might not know that much about Daisy. Of course, by chapter 8 you should already have a pretty good idea about that....
Anyhow, let's take a look: the simile is comparing Daisy to silver. The author goes a step further and explains the simile by saying that she is "safe and proud and above the struggles of the poor." This gives you a pretty good idea of what Fitzgerald wanted you to understand about Daisy.
First, silver is a precious metal. It is not as expensive as gold, but it is not exactly cheap and it is a luxury item. The use of this metal in regard to the simile lets us know that Daisy is rich. Of course, we already knew that.
The more interesting part is the bit about being safe and above the struggles of the poor. This shows that Daisy's money is able to solve a lot of problems for her...it keeps her safe from many of the difficulties of survival that most people have to go through. Because she is "silver" and not some other base metal she also has the ability to remain proud above the unwashed "masses" of poor people. Most people in poverty have no chance of buying things made out of silver. Daisy stands apart from the crowds (or separates herself from it.)
Hope this helps!
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