Clifford Chance

Silver Trading: The Reddit Rebellion and Commodities Markets?

March 1, 2021

The Wall Street Journal has reported that the CFTC and DOJ are scrutinizing trading in the silver markets, which may have followed a similar pattern to the recent retail-trading “rebellion” in GameStop and other stocks. While any retail traders participating in concerted trading intended to impact commodity-related prices can expect to draw scrutiny from the CFTC (or potentially the SEC or DOJ), the authorities may ultimately be more focused on those who lead any concerted trading as well as any institutional and other large traders, including those who may have engaged in “momentum ignition” to push prices up, and on the other side of the market, those who may have sold aggressively in an effort to “defend” lower silver prices. More information on this topic and related topics can be found in Clifford Chance’s Guide to United States and United Kingdom Derivative and Commodity Market Enforcement Regimes.

Download PDF