Silver Stackers Aim to ‘Screw the Bankers’
Adam Sharp

John Rich is a country music superstar.

He’s known as a deeply Christian man and a big supporter of President Trump.

And guess what? John’s a fellow silver bug, big time.

I recently came across a very interesting post by John on X (Twitter).

It was a long, detailed post about the silver short squeeze theory. And John has 1.4 million followers on X, so he gets some serious eyeballs on this stuff.

Here’s an excerpt (emphasis mine):

What happens to the price of silver if there are major margin calls for the American banks?

In the context of the silver futures market, “margin calls on silver” typically refers to a situation where entities (like major American banks) holding large short positions in silver contracts face increasing margin requirements as prices rise. If they can’t post additional collateral, they may be forced to cover (buy back) those shorts, potentially triggering a short squeeze that drives prices higher due to limited supply and high demand for physical delivery. Based on the latest CFTC Commitments of Traders (COT) data for COMEX silver futures as of December 30, 2025, commercial traders (including banks and swap dealers) hold a net short position of approximately 50,262 contracts, equivalent to about 251 million ounces of silver (each contract covers 5,000 ounces).

Reports indicate that a significant portion of these shorts is concentrated among a handful of U.S. banks, with JPMorgan alone allegedly SHORT contracts covering over 5,900 metric tons (roughly 190 million ounces) that it may NOT have in physical form.

This concentration has fueled speculation about market manipulation and vulnerability to squeezes, especially amid ongoing supply deficits projected at 95-200 million ounces for 2026 (the sixth consecutive year) and dwindling inventories—Western vaults have seen a 70% drawdown since 2020, with COMEX stocks draining from heightened delivery demIn a hypothetical scenario where rising prices (silver is currently around $81 per ounce as of January 6, 2026) trigger widespread margin calls, forcing these banks to cover their shorts en masse, the price of physical silver could spike dramatically due to the mismatch between paper positions and available physical metal. Recent margin hikes on COMEX (three increases in December 2025, sometimes tripling requirements) have already strained liquidity, leading to Federal Reserve interventions like $17 billion in emergency cash to an unnamed bank and unlimited repo operations.

And it goes on! John says we could hit as high as $200/oz this year if a severe squeeze develops. I recommend reading the whole post.

And Mr. Rich posts about silver frequently:

Source: X

This guy is a dedicated silver bug. We love it.

John’s Not Alone

This narrative that banks are manipulating silver markets to depress the price is a powerful one.

One popular version of the theory says that big banks are working with governments to keep a lid on silver prices.

The motive is there. Governments have a real incentive to keep precious metals prices low. When gold and silver are flying higher, it makes fiat currencies look bad.

And manipulating futures markets, at key moments, could definitely drive down prices (until a short squeeze happens).

The evidence, however, is mostly circumstantial. It is true that big bullion banks like JPMorgan are usually net short silver futures. But we don’t have access to which institutions are short or long. And we don’t know why they’re short, it could be for clients (like miners) or other parties. That’s all private data.

But big bullion banks like JPMorgan have been caught manipulating precious metals prices before by “spoofing” orders. JPM was fined a whopping $920 million in 2020.

Whether they were doing this to suppress the price, or to make money, is unknown. But they were manipulating precious metals markets.

This perception that big banks and governments are working to suppress the price of silver is extremely powerful.

It grabs ahold of people and makes them want to stack silver bullion to create a short squeeze and “screw the bankers”.

I was talking about this with my friend Chris Campbell from Altucher Confidential, and he reminded me of this classic hat popularized by Max Keiser during the 2011 bull market.

The Paper Silver Problem

For every ounce of deliverable physical silver bullion at the COMEX, as many as 300 ounces of “paper silver” contracts are trading.

Back in February of 2025, when silver was trading around $32, we sent out a newsletter by former Sprott Inc CEO Kevin Bambrough.

It was titled The Silver Squeeze: Market Manipulation and the Coming Storm.

In it, he shared his first hand experiences with the “paper silver” problem. Kevin describes it perfectly:

During my tenure at Sprott (2002-2013), we had accumulated a significant position in silver in the 2005-2007 period. This was done via top tier bullion bank certificates that promised 5-day delivery. These weren’t small positions – we’re talking about substantial tonnage that was supposedly safely stored and readily available. What unfolded next exposed a troubling reality about the paper silver market and I believe led to the huge run in silver that followed as it ultimately ran to its all-time high in nominal terms.

When we decided to take delivery, what should have been a routine 5-day process turned into a nine-month odyssey of excuses and misdirection. We had strategically contracted to store our silver in Canada’s government mint refinery and storage facility – ironically, the same facility that had been emptied when Canada foolishly sold off all its gold and silver reserves. The vaults were empty, waiting for our silver.

At first, our counterparties claimed it was merely a logistical issue. Then the excuses began:

• First, they said the silver would come from New York and weeks went by
• When that didn’t materialize, it was supposedly coming from Chicago and months passed
• Then England became the source, with a “couple of more months” shipping estimate assurances
• Finally, they claimed it would come from China, requiring cross-Canada rail transport as a way of explaining a few months of delay
• When I demanded bar numbers for our inventory purposes, we were met with weeks of silence and more excuses. Our legal position was frustrating – our lawyers advised that we couldn’t effectively sue because what damages could we claim? Missing out on “the enjoyment of looking at our silver bars” wasn’t exactly a compelling legal argument. Meanwhile, silver prices kept climbing.

The truth became clear: our counterparties had taken our money and likely just bought futures contracts. They never had the physical silver. This situation likely triggered the 2006-2010 silver rally and foretells what will likely occur again soon.

The reality is over many decades bullion banks have been caught repeatedly manipulating commodity markets. When squeezes start due to actual physical demand they engage in unethical conduct delaying their deliveries to buy themselves time. They likely get aggressive in outer month futures contracts to cover their asses and probably even ultimately profit from the rise they expect they will be causing as they slow walk their promised deliveries of material. Along the way they rely on margin requirements to be increased and profit taking to occur by speculators that don’t have the market insights the banks do. Finally, after they’ve positioned themselves net long via the futures market they let the price rip.

Amazing.

So in conclusion, regardless of whether banks and governments are working together to suppress silver prices, the short squeeze potential is very real.

And we know the paper silver problem is also real, as Kevin described perfectly above. There are a whole lot more silver IOUs out there than real metal.

If enough people start demanding physical metal, things could get even spicier.

There’s much more to explore around paper silver, and we’ll get to that next week.

Silver’s trading around $80 as I write. A nice end to the week.

So for now, have a great weekend everyone.

Adam Sharp has been a financial writer and Fed watcher since 2008. He is a contrarian who specializes in non-traditional assets. Adam founded and sold Early Investing, a newsletter about alternative investments. Sharp lives in Maryland with his wife, two children, and two dogs.

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