You've probably heard a lot about gold

in the past year, but did you know that

something equally important is happening

in the silver market? I don't know if

you follow silver.

>> Silver.

>> Silver. Silver. Silver. Investors have

been buying silver in record amounts,

and prices have been fluctuating wildly.

Why?

When we understand what's going on with

silver, it uncovers a deeper story about

government suppression, military power,

and eroding trust in Western financial

systems. Silver is the canary in the

coal mine for some profound issues.

Let's get into it. To understand silver,

we first need to understand how it's

different from gold.

Both silver and gold have been used as

stores of value for thousands of years.

They are both thought of as stable

investments through economic downturns

and periods of inflation, meaning

they're expected to hold their value

better than currencies and other assets.

The main difference is that silver is

also a crucial component in modern

industries.

This is because of its amazing

electrical and thermal conductivity, and

also its antimicrobial properties.

Silver is a critical component in

circuit boards, smartphones, solar

panels, medical instruments, plumbing,

car engines, EVs, chemical

manufacturing, batteries, and many other

applications as well.

Now, gold is useful as well, but gold's

main value comes from the fact that it's

so rare, and it doesn't corrode or

tarnish over time.

Silver, on the other hand, is more of a

hybrid. Yes, it's a precious metal, but

it's also a practical and versatile

material, essential to everyday

technologies and industries. But, silver

is also one of the most manipulated

commodities in the world.

>> [music]

>> Large financial institutions and

governments are accused of keeping its

price artificially low.

Why would they want to keep the silver

price artificially low?

There's a famous quote from historian

Arthur Herman.

World War II was won not just on the

battlefield, but in the factories.

We've already mentioned how important

silver is for industrial applications,

everything from electronics to medical

to water purification. But, it's also

crucial to military and aerospace

technology. Silver is indispensable in

advanced defense systems, weaponry, and

space technologies.

Have you ever heard of the United States

Space Force, established in 2019?

Space is quickly becoming a crucial part

of the military. It's used for

satellites that provide GPS,

communication, surveillance, and

intelligence.

Ever wonder how Trump was able to hit

all those Iranian targets in the 12-day

war?

Yep, you guessed it, satellites.

Many modern weapons depend on satellites

to accurately hit targets.

Silver is used in space because it's the

best metal for carrying electricity,

which helps satellites and spacecraft

run efficiently with limited power. It

also spreads heat extremely well,

preventing delicate electronics from

overheating or freezing in space's

extreme temperatures. [music]

But, look at this.

This is the critical minerals list

published by the Department of Energy to

identify metals and minerals that are

essential for national security,

economic stability, [music]

and energy production. And before 2025,

there was no mention of silver.

Weird, huh?

The government [music] has a vested

interest in keeping the price of silver

as low as possible, so that it can keep

its industries as cost-effective as

possible and keep steady supplies of

cheap silver for critical military

applications.

As geopolitical tensions around the

world continue to rise,

countries are racing to build up their

domestic industrial capability. To be a

strong nation, America must be a

manufacturing nation. We are bringing it

back. Silver is becoming more important

than ever. Keeping the price of silver

low is crucial to building an effective

military that's war-ready. So, how have

governments been suppressing the price

of silver?

Unlike gold, which central [music] banks

openly buy, silver is mainly traded

through contracts rather than physical

ownership.

This is known as [music] the paper

silver market.

Paper silver is silver that's traded as

contracts or promises instead of actual

physical silver you can hold. The COMEX,

the largest paper metals market in the

world, which is based in New York,

allows banks to sell massive amounts of

paper silver

without having the actual physical

silver to back it up.

The paper silver supply far exceeds the

amount of actual physical silver

available. For every physical ounce of

silver, there are often 100 or more

paper contracts.

>> [snorts]

>> This creates the illusion of abundance.

It's classic supply and demand

economics. Make it seem like the supply

is plentiful and you can keep the prices

low. Theoretically, physical shortages

of silver should cause its price to

rocket, but because silver contracts are

settled in cash and no one ever sees the

actual physical silver, the price is

able to be kept down even when there are

shortages. In 2020,

JP Morgan were forced to pay a $920

million fine for manipulating silver.

They were using what's known as spoofing

tactics, which means placing large fake

sell orders to drive prices down before

buying at lower prices.

Wasn't the government involved?

No one can say for sure,

but it's certainly not out of the

question.

The COMEX and the London Bullion Market

Association or LBMA, which is the other

largest metals markets, have also been

known to suppress the ability of

retailers to access silver during silver

price surges.

This happened in the 2021 silver squeeze

movements, where they restricted silver

buying to prevent buyers discovering its

true price.

But, look at this.

In the past year, the price of silver

has shot up. Their silver suppression

tactics haven't been working.

Why?

For the first time, investors have been

demanding delivery of physical silver

instead of just the paper silver

contracts.

The financial systems of the West are no

longer trusted on the world stage.

Paper contracts aren't good enough

anymore,

and investors want their physical metal.

On the 26th of February, 2022,

in response to the invasion of Ukraine,

President Biden blocked Russia from the

SWIFT payment system.

SWIFT is a global network that allows

banks and financial institutions to

securely send information and payment

instructions to each other.

SWIFT relies heavily on access to the US

financial system,

which means the US government can use it

to impose sanctions on countries.

When Biden blocked Russia from the SWIFT

system, it spooked countries around the

world. They started to wonder if US

financial institutions were as

trustworthy as they thought, and that

trend has only accelerated under Trump

with his madcap tariffs and aggressive

foreign policy.

As of April the 1st, India has said that

it's done using the Western system.

They will no longer use the LBMA

benchmark to set the gold and silver

prices. They're going to set their own

price and their own exchange. And they

just set the highest monthly import

volume for silver ever recorded.

The BRICS trade alliance is aiming to

make its own precious metals exchange.

When this comes online, the BRICS

countries will finally have a say in the

price of gold and silver.

It's these countries that have been

demanding the delivery of physical

silver from the COMEX and LBMA,

which has been making prices so

volatile.

They've been doing it gradually, so as

not to crash the system. But it's like

death by a million paper cuts.

China has set up the Shanghai Gold

Exchange as a rival metals market. It's

been vacuuming up all the silver it can

find. And since it's much closer to

being 100% physically backed than the

COMEX and LBMA, investors have been

flocking in droves. They're basically

undercutting the Western paper metals

market by offering a safer,

more stable, physically backed

alternative.

There's a new kid on the block. New York

and London need to get used to it.

It's all part of a wider geopolitical

picture where BRICS countries, and

particularly China, are using financial

instruments to weaken the West's

stranglehold over the economy. You can

watch the video to the left of me here

if you want to understand what's been

going on in the gold market

>> [music]

>> and how China is weaponizing it.

Or this video to the right if you want

to understand how the US petrodollar

controls the world and how that might be

changing.

Thanks for watching.

See you in the next one.