The “Hard Asset Super-Cycle” of 2025 hit a speed bump on Monday, as a wave of profit-taking and easing geopolitical tensions triggered a sharp year-end correction across the metals complex.
There was also a viral and unconfirmed rumor of a massive silver margin call circulating on social media, possibly adding to the downward turn.
- The SLV Trust is tumbling. See the chart and price action here.
Metals Market
On Monday, Gold retreated roughly 4.5% to trade near $4,345, pulling back from its recent all-time high of $4,550. The SPDR Gold Shares ETF (NYSE:GLD) slipped 4.4%.
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Copper eased approximately 4% to $5.54/lb ($12,421 per tonne), cooling off from its approach toward the psychologically-significant $13,000 mark. Shares of the Global X Copper Miners ETF (NYSE:COPX) fell 4%.
Silver experienced even more dramatic volatility, tumbling nearly 11% to the $71 to $73 range after a “flash crash” from its historic overnight peak of $83.62. Shares of the iShares Silver Trust (NYSE:SLV) tumbled nearly 9%. More on silver below.
Platinum saw one of the deepest cuts, sliding over 14% to sit near $2,180. The Abrdn Physical Platinum Shares ETF (NYSE:PPLT) was down by 13.5%.
Experts attributed the “red Monday” to a combination of year-end profit-taking, a strengthening U.S. Dollar Index and newfound optimism regarding progress in Russia-Ukraine peace talks, which significantly dampened safe-haven demand.
Meanwhile, retail traders circulated rumors of a massive silver margin call on social media.
Margin Call?
The information below is a viral, unverified social media rumor that has gained traction over the last 24 to 48 hours. There is no official confirmation from regulators, the Federal Reserve, or any major news outlet that a bank has collapsed.
Here is a breakdown of the facts versus the speculation surrounding the situation.
The Core of the Rumor
The narrative originated on platforms like X and Reddit (in communities like r/WallStreetSilver), and the specific claims being circulated include:
- The “Liquidation” Event: A “systemically important” bank allegedly failed a $2.3 billion margin call after silver prices spiked toward $84/oz. The rumor claims the bank was forcibly liquidated by an exchange at approximately 2:47 AM on Dec. 29.
- Emergency Liquidity: Social media posts allege the Federal Reserve injected between $17 billion and $34 billion into the repo market to prevent a systemic “contagion” following the failure.
- Source of the Claim: Much of the rumor has been traced back to fringe news sources known for promoting unverified and often conspiratorial financial claims.
A Reddit user posted a copy of what appears to be the original source of the rumor, and the thread attracted attention and comments from many other retail investors.
A different account posted on X, alleging the Federal Reserve had injected $34 billion into the banking system through its Emergency Overnight Repo facility.
Though there was a spike in the Fed’s repo operations, it was far less than the $34 billion claimed.
The banks listed in the post, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM), HSBC Holdings Plc (NYSE:HSBC) and UBS Group (NYSE:UBS) are frequently cited in “silver squeeze” theories because they are the largest bullion banks.
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These banks in particular often hold large “short” positions in silver to hedge their physical holdings or act as market makers.
Rumors suggest that with silver up over 150% year-to-date in 2025, they could be facing catastrophic losses on those short positions.
The Reality Check: Financial analysts point out that even a $7 billion loss (the estimated extreme-case hit for a major bank in this rally) would be manageable for institutions like UBS or JPMorgan, which hold hundreds of billions in high-quality liquid assets (HQLA).
Benzinga reached out to JPMorgan, HSBC and UBS for comment, but did not receive an immediate response.
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