The Story They Don't Want You to Know
```For over 5,000 years, silver has served as humanity's primary medium of exchange. More transactions throughout history have been conducted in silver than in any other form of money. From ancient Mesopotamia to the founding of America, silver was real money.
The Coinage Act of 1792 established silver as legal tender in the United States. A silver dollar contained 371.25 grains of pure silver. This wasn't arbitrary—it was a promise backed by physical metal.
"From at least 2008 through 2016, JPM placed hundreds of thousands of orders to buy or sell gold, silver, platinum, palladium, Treasury note, and Treasury bond futures contracts with the intent to cancel those orders prior to execution."
— CFTC Enforcement Order, September 29, 2020
Spoofing involves placing large orders with no intention of executing them. Traders place massive sell orders to create an artificial ceiling on prices, then cancel before execution. This sends false signals of supply to the market, deceiving other participants. In 2023, two former JPMorgan precious metals traders—Michael Nowak and Gregg Smith—were convicted of price manipulation and spoofing as part of a broader market-rigging scheme, resulting in fines and prison sentences.
For every ounce of physical silver that exists, estimates suggest there are 100-400 "paper" ounces in derivatives. Bullion banks flood the market with paper contracts, creating artificial supply that doesn't exist in the real world. This disconnects the futures price from physical reality. When someone demands actual delivery, the system strains.
Analysis of silver trading patterns from 2007-2025 reveals a consistent phenomenon: sharp price drops during New York morning trading hours, followed by recoveries in afternoon and overnight sessions as Asian and European markets open. This pattern—visible across thousands of trading days—bears the fingerprints of coordinated intervention rather than organic market behavior.
Something extraordinary happened in 2025. Silver rose 172%—its best year since 1979. The metal broke through $80 per ounce, smashing through decades of resistance. But the story beneath the surface is even more significant.
Reports indicate that JPMorgan, after years of being the largest short in the silver market, has reversed position. Between June and October 2025, they reportedly closed their 200-million-ounce paper short position and accumulated 750 million ounces of physical silver—the largest stockpile in history.
"JPMorgan Chase & Co., in mandatory disclosures, revealed it is on the hook to deliver more than 5,900 tons of silver it doesn't have."
— DCReport Investigation, December 2025
The Supply Crisis: Global above-ground silver supply is dwindling. LBMA and COMEX registered inventories have dropped over 70% since 2020. Meanwhile, industrial demand from solar panels, electric vehicles, and electronics continues to surge. China is implementing export licenses on silver starting January 2026.
The Short Squeeze Setup: Banks that leased silver from JPMorgan to short at lower prices are now being forced to buy back at much higher prices. Some analysts suggest other major banks (HSBC, UBS, Goldman Sachs) may face similar margin pressures. The CME has raised margin requirements multiple times in recent weeks.
Physical vs. Paper Divergence: Reports from late December 2025 show physical silver trading at significant premiums over paper prices in Shanghai. A $5-7 per ounce arbitrage has emerged between Eastern physical markets and Western paper exchanges.
The question on everyone's mind: if major banks face catastrophic losses from their short positions, will the Federal Reserve and government step in to save them—again?
JPMorgan is classified as a "systemically important" financial institution. In the 2008 financial crisis, such banks were deemed "too big to fail." The precedent exists for extraordinary intervention when major financial institutions face collapse.
1980: When the Hunt Brothers faced $1.7 billion in losses after COMEX changed the rules, a consortium of banks provided a $1.1 billion credit line to prevent market collapse. The brothers were prosecuted; the system was protected.
2008: Major banks received hundreds of billions in bailouts. JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs received TARP funds (later repaid). The Federal Reserve's balance sheet expanded from $800 billion to $1.6 trillion.
2020: The Fed's balance sheet ballooned from $3.4 trillion to $6.1 trillion. Emergency lending facilities proliferated. The precedent for massive intervention is well-established.
2025-2026: Reports of elevated repo lending at year-end. Questions about whether silver-related margin pressures are straining the system. The Fed has demonstrated willingness to act swiftly and massively.
If banks manipulated the silver market for decades, profited from artificial suppression, and now face losses as the manipulation unwinds—should taxpayers be on the hook? Or should the market be allowed to function, even if "systemically important" institutions suffer consequences for their actions?
The public deserves to know what's happening. Transparency is essential. The pattern of privatized gains and socialized losses must be challenged.
An informed public is the only check on financial manipulation. Share this information. Ask questions. Demand transparency. The silver story is everyone's story.