Calls for mass purchases of silver on Monday (March 31) are gaining traction online, with proponents hoping to disrupt the dominance of major financial institutions in the precious metals market.
The movement appears to have originated from a March 22 post on X, formerly Twitter, made by user @TheSqueakyMouse, who urged their followers to band together to buy silver.
March 31st, BUY SILVERLets take back price control and break the banks. Spread the word; who’s in. #silversqueeze pic.twitter.com/bLl0hk725D
— Sqeaky Mouse (@TheSqeakyMouse) March 22, 2025
The message quickly gained momentum, particularly after being amplified by analyst Jesse Colombo.
Colombo, who posts on X under the handle @TheBubbleBubble, has been vocal about what he claims is a longstanding suppression of the silver price by large financial institutions.
‘Bullion banks like JPMorgan and UBS suppress silver prices through aggressive naked shorting — but a coordinated surge of physical buying could catch them off guard and break their hold on the market,’ he wrote on Substack.
Colombo and other supporters argue that financial institutions are suppressing silver prices through ‘naked shorting,’ a practice where banks take short positions on silver futures. He explained in his post that major banks currently hold net short positions of 44,583 silver futures contracts, equating to 223 million ounces of silver.
This means that for every US$1 increase in silver’s price, these institutions could face US$223 million in losses.
By encouraging retail investors to purchase physical silver, the movement hopes to exert upward pressure on the price, potentially forcing banks to cover their short positions, leading to a short squeeze scenario.
Echoes of the 2021 silver squeeze
This is not the first time retail investors have attempted to challenge institutional short positions in silver.
The original silver squeeze in early 2021 followed the high-profile GameStop (NYSE:GME) short squeeze, where retail traders from the Reddit forum WallStreetBets successfully drove up GameStop’s share price, triggering massive losses for hedge funds. Social media users then set their sights on silver, hoping to create a similar outcome.
Although the enthusiasm pushed silver above US$30, the movement ultimately lost momentum.
‘Honestly, I don’t think it’s going to have that much of an effect this time … The retail market in silver is languishing. One major wholesaler even had net negative demand, meaning more sells than buys, in the last couple of weeks.’
Morgan also pointed out that the first silver squeeze benefited from a perfect storm of retail enthusiasm, a low silver price and a post-GameStop wave of anti-Wall Street sentiment. This time, he believes, momentum is weaker, with higher prices and declining retail interest in silver compared to previous years.
Market reactions and price movements
The silver price stayed relatively steady ahead of Monday, with some minor upticks.
One key factor to watch will be the demand for physical silver versus paper silver (such as futures contracts or silver exchange-traded funds). If enough investors opt for physical bullion — rather than financial instruments that may not require actual silver delivery — it could create supply constraints that drive the metal higher.
Whether the Silver Squeeze 2.0 succeeds in significantly impacting the silver market remains to be seen. Whatever the result, the movement has reignited discussions about potential price suppression in the precious metals market and raised awareness about how retail investors can influence commodity markets.
The white metal reached a high of US$34.40 on Monday.
As of 2:55 p.m EST the silver price was holding in the US$34.03 range, marking a 3 percent uptick over the last five days and a 16.34 percent increase since the start of 2025.
Securities Disclosure: I, Giann Liguid, hold no direct investment interest in any company mentioned in this article.