27, when posts appeared on WallStreetBets saying that if enough people bought the metal, they could push prices to the moon.Īdding to the impetus was an argument put forward on Reddit that big banks trade huge quantities of paper contracts for silver that they don't have in their possession, keeping prices lower than they should be.Ĭontracts representing around 800 million ounces of silver are active in the New York futures market alone - more than twice the amount the exchange says is in its registered vaults, not all of which is available for delivery. Posters on Reddit joined the silver fray on Jan. "Silver and gold really have intrinsic physical value that you can even feel when you hold it in your hand." "It scares me every day when this bomb will burst," said Tim Hack, a 23-year-old stacker in Germany. The silver stackers are joining millions worldwide who believe currencies are vulnerable – a fear that has grown as governments borrowed and printed money in the pandemic. Prices of silver and gold, which are traditionally seen as safe stores of wealth, have risen since 2019: Gold is up around 40% and silver around 70% since then. "And then it will be over for the bullion banks." "In a year or two we will have millions of people in the movement," Bayoukhi told Reuters. investment bank which dominates the bullion trade: "KISS MY ASS JAMIE DIMON." JPMorgan (JPM.N) declined to comment. Some say that by buying up bars and coins, they can jack up prices by 100% or even 1,000%, to the point where they can call the shots against the so-called bullion banks, the large financial institutions which lead trade in precious metals.Ī March post pictured silver coins laid out to spell a message to the head of JPMorgan Chase & Co, a U.S. ![]() Stackers think the price will rise as inflation erodes the value of currencies, demand for silver rises, and supplies run short. ![]() "NOW IS THE TIME TO WAKE UP AND TAKE THE POWER BACK IN THE HANDS OF THE PEOPLE," says one of his characteristic posts. The group's founder, Ivan Bayoukhi, is a 24-year old former car salesman living with his parents in Alberta, Canada. Reuters spoke to more than 20 members, who call themselves "silverbacks" and "apes," have a home page featuring an image of an army of primates on the march from the "Planet of the Apes" movie, and say things like "Ape like shiny." They organise "raids" – days on which everyone buys together. The core of the movement is a Reddit community called Wall Street Silver, formed in January at the time WallStreetBets was marshalling an uprising of ordinary people against the financial elites, through coordinated buying of company shares. "The bankers and others have basically shut that door for everyone who is not themselves." "There's a bit of anger, like 'fuck the system.' If there's a back door to wealth, I might take that door because the front door is closed," said Kraker. Market professionals say that is unlikely to succeed - there is plenty of silver, and central bankers in the United States and Europe expect inflation to stay in low single-digits.īut bankers aren't getting through to this group. Inspired by Reddit forum WallStreetBets, some of the 122,000-strong community hope to corner the market and bring down what they say is an unjust banking system. "They are so encouraging and so convinced in the changes they can cause," Kraker, who lost his home in the financial crisis, told Reuters. Thanks to a community of like-minded silver 'stackers' gathering on social-media platform Reddit Inc., Seattle-based Kraker says he also feels empowered. He's part of a growing social media movement who say they are buying bars and coins for protection from a coming age of inflation. Since March he's spent around $100 a week - half his spare cash – on silver coins. ![]() ![]() Kerry Kraker, 56, has worked in kitchens all his life. LONDON, July 9 (Reuters) - (The seventh paragraph contains language that may offend some readers)
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