Category Archives: Economic meltdown

Silver is set to change the way all markets work, and start a catastrophic cascade across all commodities

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There are many videos posted on this site and especially in the comments about how the economy is working,. or various metrics that indicate the health or the genuine actual mechanisms of the economy which are as occulted as everything else pretty much,

Personally I like this video because it states simple verifiable facts, and builds a model that is easy to follow and makes a lot of sense. But it also reflects a lot which we have heard from our site experts over the years as well, but now packaged in a way that gives a trajectory, leading to an outcome.

If anyone can correct the video on some of the facts or reasoning please don’t hesitate to do so in the comments. Anything really good we’ll move up into the post.

As of 2:40 PM December 24, 2025:

Here’s the most current spot price information available for silver related to the Shanghai market, as close to real-time as public data generally allows:

? Shanghai Silver Price (converted to USD per troy ounce) – ~Dec 24, 2025

Silver price on the Shanghai Gold Exchange (SGE) converted into U.S. dollars per troy ounce is approximately:
**? ~ $78.55 USD/oz (this reflects Shanghai trading pricing, which can include local premiums)
GoldSilver.ai

Kitko Spot price: $71.85 USD

UPDATE: While the central thesis of this video is correct, there ARE mitigating factors. I will post Chat GPT’s analysis of the text of the video shortly. So while this video raises real points of concern, he may have overweighted the importance of the difference in the prices East Vs. West. The Eastern markets are not true free markets. Therefore are not always in alignment.

UPDATE 2:

As of 8:00 AM ET December 25th, the SGE, (Chinese exchange used as the basis for the video above) has actually gone down a dollar or so, (depending on how you do the exchange rate to USD) BELOW the COMEX. This tends to negate a large part of the argument in the video.

I sent the full text of the video to ChatGPT for analysis. It was interesting but not worth putting here in total. However today’s change in the relative pricing seemed interesting enough to ask GPT how it affects the argument he makes overall about Silver and the state of commodities. here is the answer in full.

How much of his argument depends on SGE > COMEX?

1. Structural argument (still intact)

Most of his analysis rests on mechanism, not on yesterday’s number:

  • SGE represents physical settlement pressure

  • COMEX represents paper leverage

  • Arbitrage between the two is not frictionless

  • Capital controls, delivery constraints, and contract structure delay equalization

That logic does not require SGE to always trade at a premium.
It only requires that persistent divergence is possible — which history clearly supports.

? This part still holds.

2. Signal argument (temporarily weakened)

Where the reversal does matter is here:

“The SGE premium proves physical stress is intensifying right now.”

That claim depends on:

  • SGE staying meaningfully above COMEX

  • The spread being stable or widening

With the spread flipping from +7 USD ? ~-1 USD in ~24 hours:

  • That specific stress signal is no longer confirmed

  • It now looks more like short-term inventory or flow normalization, not escalation

?? This undermines the immediacy, not the theory.

3. Equalization mechanism — still the key insight

Ironically, the reversal actually demonstrates one of his central points:

  • Equalization does happen

  • But it happens episodically, not smoothly

  • And it often overshoots or snaps back

A fast reversal suggests:

  • Metal was mobilized

  • Or paper pressure temporarily dominated

  • Or Chinese demand paused (holiday / liquidity / margin effects)

None of that contradicts his framework — it just shows the system breathing.

Bottom line judgment

If we were grading the argument:

  • Core thesis: ? Still solid

  • Mechanics of divergence: ? Still valid

  • Claim of current physical stress: ?? Weakened

  • Predictive certainty / timeline: ? Overconfident

If this were your write-up, the correct framing would be:

“The SGE–COMEX spread is volatile and episodic; its temporary reversal does not refute the physical-paper divergence thesis, but it does caution against treating short-term premiums as linear indicators of systemic stress.”

That’s a stronger, more defensible position.

On Silver, and power – a genuine tectonic event for both

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Once upon a time I enjoyed a subscription to a science magazine called, “Gizmag” which got captured by narrative enforcing agencies, renamed, and became a propaganda rag for the usual nonsense, blaming every event that could be framed as bad on Global warming from American and Western CO2 production.

But one of the themes that constantly floated by in every 3rd or 4th edition was some new battery tech breakthrough that would revolutionize everything.

This was of course, a damned half truth.

Yes a new battery tech breakthrough would indeed revolutionize a lot of things. Not just an incremental improvement, but at worst, an increment so large decisions at the day to day level would change, and at best, a genuine revolution in terms of things being better, less costly, more available and with less waste.

But none of these breakthroughs ever manifested into something real.

The idea is that if you can store a meaningful amount of power in a small space, suddenly crap ideas like solar panels and windmills actually become just that little bit more practical because at least you can store a little power for when the sun don’t shine and the wind don’t blow. To put it in terms of a blues song.

It means most of my objections, not all but a lot to electric vehicles no longer apply.

There are many more practical, and even far more important implications to a significant leap in energy storage tech, not all of which spring to mind right now. But it will mean a more convenient, less wired, quieter and cleaner world.

Enter Samsung and their announcement of a new battery tech with TWICE the energy density of the best LiPo batteries currently used in cars, without exploding, can be charged more times, which means less disposal issues and in all ways represents a true breakthrough in battery tech.

The thing is, these batteries need silver as one of the critical materials for their manufacture, and nothing else will do.

So I asked Chat GPT about this new tech and it gave me the following summary. And for those interested in exactly how much silver will be needed to make these new batteries, this article gives the amount needed for current global electric vehicle batteries alone, if only TWENTY PERCENT of current EV production adopts these new batteries, it means an annual demand of 16,000 metric tons of silver, which is a large fraction of the current global production of 25,000 tons annually.

Below the full post by Chat GPT. And for those that are just looking to know if it is still worth buying PHYSICAL silver and hanging on to it…

Yes.It is.

Chat GPT: Samsung has been developing a new battery technology that incorporates silver, and it’s tied to their work on next-generation solid-state batteries, not a standard lithium-ion battery upgrade. Discovery Alert

Here’s the key about it:

? Is Samsung using silver in batteries?

Samsung (specifically Samsung SDI) is working on solid-state battery designs that include a silver-carbon (Ag-C) composite material — typically in the anode region. Rather than a traditional graphite or lithium-metal anode, the silver-carbon layer helps with ion transport, stability, and safety in solid-state structures. Discovery Alert

? Why silver — what does it do?

Silver isn’t there just because it’s a precious metal — it has very high electrical conductivity and mechanical durability. In these prototypes it can:

  • Improve internal conductivity so electrons move more efficiently Discovery Alert

  • Help reduce dendrite growth (a common failure mode in metal anodes) Discovery Alert

  • Enable thinner, lighter battery layouts with higher energy density — prototypes suggest potential performance around 500 Wh/kg, roughly double what many current EV lithium-ion cells offer. Discovery Alert

That’s why silver is being discussed in significant quantities (estimates around grams of Ag per cell and ~1 kg per EV pack), and why analysts talk about its demand rising. Metals and Miners

? Benefits vs. cost

Using silver is expensive — silver costs are much higher per kilogram than typical battery materials — but the proposed advantages are significant enough that it might be worth it in premium applications:

Potential benefits:

  • Higher energy density ? longer range for EVs

  • Faster charging

  • Better cycle life / durability

  • Improved safety (solid electrolyte means fewer fire risks) Discovery Alert

Cost trade-offs:

  • Silver is much more expensive than graphite or copper traditionally used in batteries

  • Higher material costs mean initial adoption likely in high-end or limited segments

  • Scaling production and cost reduction are still big engineering challenges Discovery Alert

? Bottom line

Samsung’s silver-enhanced solid-state battery approach is real and is part of broader next-gen battery research; the silver isn’t a gimmick, it’s there to solve specific materials science challenges that could justify higher cost by delivering significantly better performance metrics (energy density, fast charging, lifespan, safety). Discovery Alert

A paragraph or two from the link above on the reality of this tech and its effects on Silver:

And when you add in the demand from the military, from the A.I. and robotics revolutions, and from the rising consumer class in Asia, you have a recipe for a supply crisis of epic proportions.

The question is not whether the price of silver will rise. The question is how high it will go. And the answer is that it will go much, much higher.

The world is about to discover that silver is not just a precious metal; it is the most indispensable metal on the planet. And the price is about to reflect that reality.

The Solid-State Battery Breakthrough: A Game-Changer for Silver Demand

Samsung has developed a new solid-state battery that is set to revolutionize the electric vehicle industry. This new battery offers a 600-mile range, a 20-year lifespan, and a 9-minute charge time. It is a game-changer for the EV industry, and it is a game-changer for the silver market.

Special thanks to JU for his consistent thoughts on metals and its relationship to economics.

Tucker Carlson does a long interview with Catherine Austin Fitz about CBDCs and the danger they present

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Chapters:
0:00 Introduction
1:11 The Attempts to Control the World’s Currency
12:09 The Two Things That Lead to Inflation
16:17 Central Bankers vs. the West
25:01 What You Should Know About the Bank of International Settlements
29:48 The Banker’s Plan to Conquer Space
32:27 Are We Approaching an Extinction Event?
35:57 Secret Underground Bases All Across the US
44:49 The Government’s Secret Energy Sources
56:42 Who Are the Masterminds Behind the Central Banks?
58:26 The Real Reason American Universities Are Failing
1:06:25 The Global Depopulation Plan
1:13:20 The Housing Crisis
1:24:40 How to Stay Joyful in Dark Times
1:25:37 The Missing $21 Trillion
1:30:30 America’s Debt Is a Symptom of Something Much Bigger
1:39:36 Global Money Laundering
1:45:06 Where Can People Learn More About This?

Thank you M.

Is the forecast great reckoning of paper gold and silver at hand?

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The Baron over at Gates of Vienna, sent me these two screen grabs, and the interview referred to in the second one.

This is not my area of expertise. Perhaps JU could offer a comment or answer questions on this post, or anyone else who reads here that has expertise in these matters, if indeed anyone does. In any case, given what has been posted of the head of the Bank of International Settlements and their insistence on enslaving us all with Central Bank Digital Currencies here at this site recently, it feels like this is an important thing to know, if it’s accurate.

_________

So this post contains an idea which has been kicked around on this site occasionally but without a lot of emphasis since it started. The idea being at core, that silver and gold prices are artificially low and kept so by paper sales and shorts. Now on the surface, this both makes sense and doesn’t. But the accelerant for suspicion should have been launched when Gamergate went public. Then we knew for a fact that markets are not organic, but created by wealthy hedge funds. Interestingly the same Reddit users who broke the cabrons who rigged the game stock in question, then went after silver but had a minimal and short term effect. They didn’t have the clout to really make a difference, and they were up against the ability to infinitely create phoney paper silver and gold, as opposed to people short selling a stock they could not longer buy on short, and could no longer afford the call on it.

This news, while dealing with an idea we were all pretty clear on, has a new element. Immediacy.

In the US of A, the first amendment (used to) allows people to say pretty much anything, including, “I hate that guy so much I’m gonna freaking kill him!” But, once you add a time and date into that sentence, it then becomes a crime. Conspiracy to murder. And is no longer protected under 1A.

These screen grabs are making a claim as to exactly when these banks are going to demand delivery of their metals, and that, must, blow up the entire market for precious metals. The cost will be insanely high. Government will have an excuse to do horrible things to our properties and persons. How it all fits with CBDCs and other moving parts, I don’t know or have any pretence to know. As I say, It is not my area. I am already mildly annoyed at having to learn to much about Islam, virology, vaccinology. communism, none of which has anything to do with my chosen field, even if I am honoured to be able to use those understandings for the betterment of this community. But I do know it likely does tie in.

There are several readers of this site who have a tighter grip on this kind of thing than I do. I ask humbly if you would write your thoughts, positive or negative, affirming or denying anything in this post. It’s pretty important stuff. Too important to get it wrong, even though having some small portion of your personal assets in physical silver or gold or both is probably not a bad idea, and has very little downside under any of the scenarios we may imagine taking place in the short and medium term future.

A little bit more on Central Bank Digital Currencies

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This woman seems to explain it fairly well

Early on, she mentions the Bank of International Settlements. For more on that, and who runs it, and their ambitions, see below:

Partial interview with German economist, Ernst Wolff on digital money and the near future

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This probably should be seen by anyone who is wondering if and how they can preserve any actual currency or wealth as governments seek to replace regular money, which means freedom in many important ways, with a programmable traceable geofenced form of digital currency which can be expired or taken from you instantly.

Additional information about Ernst and this interview can be read at RAIR Foundation.

Rafi Farber: PM Premiums at all time high, EU calls for Absolute Soviet style controls

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As a forward to one of the aspects to this video, we offer a kind of explanation for one remark Rafi makes in this video about silver.

it is generally believed by advocates of precious metals (PM) as either a currency, a basis for currency, or as a way to protect your wealth from inflation and other bad policy moves by government, that the supply of metals such as gold and silver is much lower than is reflected in the price. In other words, if the actual availability of PMs was reflected in the price, the cost would be a multiple of what it is as the public spot price for the metal, and not just some few percent higher.

The explanation for this most often given, is that people buy and sell mostly paper representations of metal to one degree or another, which makes it subject to the same kinds of manipulations via shorts and other derivatives, that we saw with the Hedge Funds and a certain game company, where the price was deliberately tanked in order to make shorts work for the people who made them. Something which should be criminal, but for some reason isn’t depending on who does the crime.

As I understand it, which is abstract at best, metal prices are manipulated in this way but by more and bigger players in order to keep currency strong, or the belief in the currency strong.

The evidence that this is the case, is what is called “the spread”. This means that if you look at the cost of say, silver based on the spot price and compare it to the cost of buying some and having it physically delivered, the difference is at an all time high.

A few years ago, the average spread between the spot and the cost of items you could have delivered  on most products was around $2.50/Oz and maybe a little less in bulk and maybe a little more if it was an odd product you bought such as silver cartridges or a wolf’s head or something. This would be from a dealer like Silver Gold Bull.

As of the time of writing, to buy a few Silver Maple Leaf 1 Oz. rounds/coins the cost is about USD $27.00 per, depending on method of payment while the listed spot price of silver is about USD $18.80 per Oz.

That makes the premium around USD $8.20 per Oz. Which is crazy high. There could be other explanations for this. Demand for silver products, such as bars and rounds or coins could outstrip demand as opposed to the demand for the actual metal, which might be normal or even lower than usual if industrial use of these metals is falling. In that case buying the raw metal could be an indicator.

On Amazon.com Sterling Silver casting grain is around $34.95 USD. Casting grain means it is just rough, uneven beads of silver, made to be melted and reshaped as a liquid into whatever product or jewellery you want. It is also .925% silver, or “Sterling” silver and not quite the .999 or in the case of the Canadian mint, .9999 fine silver you get in the rounds, bars and coins. (Sterling is better for jewellery as its harder and more durable and contains around .075% copper and or other metals)

RioGrande however, has it at USD $23.68 if you buy 3 Oz or more. And that is for .999 fine. This means the REAL spread on the actual metal even for more or less retail is only around USD $5.70/Oz. This is still crazy high compared to the more normal USD $2.50 or so for actual coins, bars and rounds, but is not the whopping spread it is now and is a better reflection of the actual difference in supply and demand of the metal as opposed to demand for familiar silver products which people are clearly buying in vast amounts for very rational reasons.

All this is an explanation for a remark Rafi makes at the start of this video, that we felt deserved a bit of explanation.

Ten minute lesson on the nature of money

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I was sent this by a gentleman who has a financial magazine read by some of the top people in finance. This is not my field and am uncomfortable even thinking about it in some ways. But I am reliably informed by a few people now, that there is truth in this world view, and profundity. In fact, this is not the usual video about how things work or what to invest in, so much is its an attempt to explain an entire world view about how money is created and destroyed, what wealth is, and so on. I plan to watch it a few more times and hopefully develop an understanding that gives me some predictive ability.

To the extent that I get it now, it doesn’t necessarily change much. It still appears that we are moving from a more or less credit driven free market system into what might be a more controlled feudal system. I dunno. Hopefully this offers insight. Looking forward to the comments on this.

Special guest post by Johnny U: Precious metals trade, secretly being taken over by the banks

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I had a conversation with a Canadian precious metals dealer yesterday. How interesting this was. He’s been in business for at least 40 years. Unsurprisingly, trust is his real medium of exchange both physically, and in spirit.

He revealed a few furtive, fun facts. Fellow dealers in his realm are being served up ultimatums by their Dystopian charter banks. It seems Dear Leader’s monkey business in the banking sector is extending far beyond freezing truckers’ charity donations.

Banks are trying to force pm dealers out of business by stripping them of services. They have been ordered to empty their commercial and personal accounts and cut up their credit cards. This also includes those of their spouses if they deal with the same institution. All government tax-deferring instruments are included, such as those offered for childrens’ higher education and their registered retirement savings plans (401k equivalent). These are ordered to be liquidated immediately.

What does this mean? This dealer sees the big banks moving into the precious metals dealing space in a big way. He thinks they are trying to eliminate the competition in order to achieve a monopoly.

Given recent events not necessary to repeat, we were given a most explicit demonstration of the chartered banks’ role as an extension of the Dystopian federal government. This dealer calls them ruthless, and said he is very worried.  The dealers of whom he spoke included a refinery business founded in 1967. They were also ordered to submit their FINTRAC filings immediately, rather than for the usual mid-summer deadline.

It all begs for many answers to many questions. Will Canadians soon be optioned out and forced to buy and sell precious metals only through government-controlled banks? Will pm ownership be made illegal because it places their holders outside the “system”? How will government close the numerous and emerging gold-backed block-chain currencies? Certainly, one can conclude that trust is not this government’s “medium of exchange”.

Given current world events, including the monetary policy malfeasance displayed by every Western nation, we must consider this development as a precursors to currency controls in the event of an economic or banking crisis. As another friend likened, it’s like ‘sealing the exits at the theater before they set the place on fire’.

https://www.investopedia.com/terms/e/exchangecontrol.asp

Exchange Control
https://www.investopedia.com

 

The dollar – and the USA – is toast

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WND:

Lord Monckton About | Email | ArchiveChristopher Monckton of Brenchley, high priest of climate skepticism, advised Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, wrote leaders for the Yorkshire Post, was editor of the Catholic paper The Universe, managing editor of the Telegraph Sunday Magazine, assistant editor of Today, and consulting editor of the Evening Standard. He invented the million-selling “Eternity Puzzles,” “Sudoku X” and a promising treatment for infections. See the Science & Public Policy Institute.

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Obama has done it. He has brought America down. It only took him just over four years. The Republicans could have stopped him. They didn’t.

How did the nihilistic left succeed in destroying America? Simple. They learned just a little of the capitalism they hate, and they drove your nation into outright bankruptcy.

And here is what the GOP has to say about it: just about nothing.

The once-mighty United States is now the most indebted nation on Earth. In round numbers, here are just some of the vital statistics as the patient dies:

Click to continue: