- Reported physical silver inventories in major financial hubs like London are plummeting to historic lows, creating a severe disconnect with stagnant paper market prices.
- JPMorgan Chase holds a dominant and controversial position, controlling a massive portion of the physical silver available for delivery on the COMEX exchange.
- The People's Republic of China, through its state entities, is engaged in a multi-year campaign of aggressively accumulating gold and silver, moving away from the U.S. dollar.
- Evidence suggests a potential front-running operation where JPMorgan may be acquiring physical silver in anticipation of, or in concert with, Chinese demand, effectively acting as a conduit.
- This activity jeopardizes national security by transferring strategic asset control and highlights the systemic risk of paper market manipulation.
- Scottsdale Mint CEO Josh Phair gives an insider's view of what's going on in silver-& its US/JP Morgan vs China!
The vanishing vaults and the paper illusion
To understand the scandal, one must first grasp the two-tiered system of the silver market. There is the physical market, where real bars and coins are bought, sold, and stored. Then there is the paper market, primarily the COMEX in New York, where vast numbers of futures contracts—promises to deliver silver—are traded electronically. For decades, the paper market, dominated by a few major banks, has dictated the global price. This price, however, is built on a fragile premise: that there is always enough physical metal to back the mountain of paper promises.
That premise is now cracking. Reports from the London Bullion Market Association (LBMA) and other vault tracking services show registered silver inventories—the metal readily available to back those paper contracts—have been in a near-vertical decline. It is a drain that echoes the frantic final ounces of water from a bottle. Meanwhile, the paper price on COMEX has been artificially suppressed, held in a cage by the sheer volume of derivative contracts. This creates a dangerous illusion for the public: while the shelf appears stocked on the price tag, the back room is bare. This setup benefits entities who can navigate both worlds, acquiring the real asset at a discounted paper price before the inevitable collision between reality and fiction occurs.
JPMorgan's silver mountain and the Beijing connection
Enter JPMorgan Chase. Following its 2020 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice for manipulative trading practices in precious metals—a slap-on-the-wrist $920 million fine—the bank has only tightened its grip. It now holds a staggering share of the registered silver inventory in COMEX warehouses, a position so large it effectively controls the supply available for delivery. This is not free-market competition; this is the establishment of a choke hold.
Parallel to this, the People's Bank of China has been on a documented, relentless buying spree. For over 18 consecutive months, China has added to its official gold reserves, and industry analysts report a parallel, though less publicized, surge in silver acquisition. China's strategy is clear: to diversify away from U.S. Treasury debt and fortify its currency with tangible assets. They are not just buying metal; they are buying monetary sovereignty. The critical question becomes: who is selling them this metal? The evidence points to a facilitator. With Western vaults emptying and JPMorgan sitting on the stockpile, the architecture of a front-running operation becomes visible. The bank, with its privileged market position and regulatory foresight, could be accumulating physical silver, knowing a massive, price-insensitive buyer—the Chinese state—is waiting in the wings. It is the ultimate insider trade, conducted on a geopolitical scale.
A strategic asset stripped and a system exposed
The consequences of this quiet transfer extend far beyond trader profits. Silver is a keystone industrial metal, irreplaceable in solar panels, electronics, electric vehicles, and defense applications. It is not just a commodity; it is a pillar of modern technology and national security. Allowing control of its physical supply to be concentrated by a single bank and potentially transferred to a strategic competitor is an act of economic surrender. It leaves American industry vulnerable to supply shocks and strategic blackmail.
Furthermore, this episode tears away the curtain on the corrupt game of paper versus physical. It reveals how the financial elite, through banks like JPMorgan, can manipulate the perceived value of an asset to their benefit, draining the real wealth from the system while the public is pacified with numbers on a screen. The coming price explosion in silver will not be a market anomaly; it will be the market finally screaming the truth after years of being gagged by paper. It is a warning that in the clash between paper promises and physical reality, reality always wins.
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