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 Last week, the Comx attempted to push silver prices lower by raising margin requirements, but so far it doesn't look like they did enough. Silver prices continue to rise, and right now it feels like very little is standing in the way. Even more surprising, JP Morgan appears to have stopped shorting silver altogether. So, the big question now is where does silver go from here? Let's break it down. Looking at silver's price action last week, we did see a dip. Silver dropped about $1.50 by the end of

the week, but that move was short-lived. Prices have already recovered, and if silver were to close around current levels, we would be looking at a new all-time high. Silver futures are also trending higher and at the moment they're trading very close to spot price. If spot silver begins rising faster than futures, we could see backwardation, something we'll definitely want to keep an eye on. Many people expected silver to continue falling this week because the comx recently raised margin requirements on

silver futures contracts. But to understand what might happen next, we need to look at what's happened in the past. The ape of Gold Street shared a useful breakdown on X, looking at how silver behaved after historical comx margin hikes of similar size, generally in the 8 to 12% range. The first case goes back to February 2010. The COMX raised margins by 10% after silver rose from $16 to $18 an ounce. 5 days later, silver was down about 1.8%. 10 days later, it was up 2.5%. And 30 days later, silver was up 9.4%.

A brief dip followed by strong upside continuation. The second case was in October 2010. The ComX implemented an 11% margin hike after silver broke out toward $24 an ounce. 5 days later, silver was down 3.3%. 10 days later, it was up 4.1%. And 30 days later, it was up 18%. The third case came in January 2011. A 9% margin hike was announced as silver moved from $28 to $31. 5 days later, silver was down 4%. 10 days later, it was down 1%. But 30 days later, silver was still up 12%. So far, we're seeing a clear pattern. One margin

hike typically causes short-term weakness followed by higher prices. But the next example is critical because it breaks that pattern. And this is where people need to pay close attention. In April 2011, the Comx announced a 10% margin hike. What's important to note is that this was the first of five consecutive margin hikes. After the first hike, silver actually continued higher. 5 days later, silver was up 6%. 10 days later, it was up 11%. The major collapse didn't happen until after the Comx added four more margin

hikes in rapid succession. In other words, the first hike didn't work. Silver kept rising. The price only fell after repeated clustered margin increases. That's the key distinction here. A single 10% margin hike is not bearish for silver. Multiple margin hikes backto back are so far we've only seen one hike. If the comx stops here, history suggests this could actually be bullish. If they continue raising margins aggressively, that's when silver could come under pressure. And if you're

holding silver right now, there's probably no reason to panic, especially when you consider what some of the biggest players are doing. According to a recent article, JP Morgan has reportedly closed its entire 200 million ounce silver short position and is now long as much as 750 million ounces of silver. It's being reported that the bank may now hold over 750 million ounces of physical silver, potentially the largest stockpile in the world. Now, we don't know exactly how much of that

silver is physically in their vaults, but JP Morgan is the custodian for the EyesShares Silver Trust, the SLV ETF. So, they would need access to large quantities of silver regardless. What's most surprising here is that between June and October, JP Morgan reportedly exited all of its paper silver shorts. This has raised a lot of eyebrows because historically the bank's aggressive shortselling on the comx has been accused of suppressing silver prices by creating massive paper supply through derivatives. I'll be honest, I'm

still skeptical. It's hard to believe they have zero short exposure, but if they really are heavily long silver now, that suggests they may see the writing on the wall and maybe we should be paying attention. Here's another major development. Silver prices have now surged past oil for the first time since the early 1980s. One ounce of silver is trading around $63.80, while WTI crude oil is closer to $57 per barrel. That's a dramatic reversal from mid2022 when oil was more than five times more

expensive than silver. And when you think about it, it makes sense. Silver is used in solar panels, data centers, electric vehicles, electronics, weapons systems, and it's now classified as a US critical mineral. In many ways, silver is becoming the new oil, and the world is running out of it. According to the Silver Institute, the silver market is on track for its fifth consecutive year of structural deficit. In 2021, the market was short 89 million ounces. In 2022, the deficit grew to 272

million ounces. In 2023, it was 210 million ounces. Last year, about 151 million ounces. And this year, roughly 95 million ounces. And this trend doesn't appear to be slowing down. Some reports suggest solar energy alone could consume nearly 100% of annual silver supply by 2050. And that doesn't even factor in AI data centers or next generation batteries. Samsung is reportedly working on silverbased solidstate batteries that could last twice as long, go twice as far, charge in under 10 minutes, weigh less, and be

significantly safer than current EV batteries. Even a modest 20% adoption rate could consume hundreds of thousands of ounces of silver every year. And that demand hasn't even started yet. Silver prices are already up 117% in just 250 days, making this one of the strongest years in silver's history. Some analysts believe silver could reach $100 an ounce as soon as next year. Major banks are also turning more bullish. BNP Parabah has suggested silver could reach $100 per ounce by the end of 2026, driven by inflation,

geopolitical risks, and safe haven demand. Gold has already had a massive run, and historically, gold tends to lead while silver follows. If that pattern repeats, silver may still have a long way to go. Gold remains the largest asset by market cap, but silver has now climbed into the number five spot, passing Microsoft and holding roughly twice the market cap of Bitcoin. Earlier this year, Bitcoin briefly overtook silver, but that didn't last long. So now I want to hear from you. What do you

think about the Comx margin hike last week? Do you think they'll raise margins again? And do you actually believe JP Morgan has exited its silver short positions? Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. Subscribe for real silver insights. Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you in the next