February 26, 2026 | One Cause of Silver’s Recent Volatility

Quite a rollercoaster we silver stackers are on. The metal’s price gaps up, making us geniuses. Then it tanks, replacing our self-regard with angst. And then it does it all again.

Some behind-the-scenes games are definitely being played, and here’s one of them:

Start with the fact that Jane Street, a semi-obscure investment bank, recently acquired a huge position in the physical silver ETF SLV. As explained on X:

Macro Liquidity by Sunil Reddy @Macrobysunil

Why did Jane Street need to buy enough SLV shares to become the largest holder of the iShares Silver Trust (20.67 million shares added in Q4 2025)?

Here is a clear, professional explanation of the typical high-level strategy these sophisticated quantitative firms use:

They first accumulate a sufficiently large position in SLV shares, large enough to influence market price action when required.

When the majority of traders and retail investors turn strongly bullish, put options (which profit from a price decline) become very cheap.

They then buy these put options in huge quantities.

At the right moment, they dump their entire accumulated share position all at once.

This sudden heavy selling creates a sharp, unexpected crash, a large red candle that causes retailers to panic-sell. Stop-loss orders are triggered en masse, accelerating the decline.

Their put options then gain hundreds of percent in value in a short time.
The process is then repeated again.

This kind of manipulation is unhealthy for any market. It is concerning how regulatory authorities appear to turn a blind eye to such practices.

This Is Not Price Suppression

The game described above definitely aligns with silver’s recent price action. And it’s absolutely a variant of insider trading that should be punished accordingly.

But it’s not price suppression. Big traders don’t care whether silver ends up higher or lower when they’re done, as long as their cons pay off. So this form of manipulation doesn’t affect the long-term buy-and-hold strategies that smart stackers pursue. One look at a silver price chart proves that fundamentals are winning out:

So unless and until the regulators start doing their jobs, big players will continue to use SLV to spike and crash the silver price, wreaking havoc on individual traders who think they can time this market.

The solution? Ignore the squiggles and keep your eyes on the $200+ prize. It’s coming, but the ride will not be restful.

John Rubino February 26th, 2026

Posted In: John Rubino Substack

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