For greater than 40 years, the mainstream narrative has gone unchallenged:
“Silver hit $50 as a result of the Hunt brothers cornered the market.”
It’s a easy story — nearly too easy.
In Mike Maloney’s newest deep-dive, he reveals why this model doesn’t maintain up beneath scrutiny. The analysis, the interviews, the historic information… all of them level to one thing way more advanced — and way more revealing — about how markets really work, and the way governments react when gold and silver start transferring too rapidly.
Beneath is a abstract of essentially the most eye-opening insights from the video.
Wall Road Nonetheless Will get the Story Mistaken
Mike begins by calling out a current chart from a Goldman Sachs analyst labeling the 1980 silver spike as the results of the Hunts “cornering the market.”
The issue? That’s not what the proof says.
Mike’s group went by a foot-tall stack of books on the topic — together with the definitive account Manipulation on Trial. The conclusion?
- No proof the Hunts cornered the market
- No proof they manipulated costs
- Most significantly: the information contradicts the narrative
Even Jeff Christian of CPM Group, one of the broadly cited consultants in treasured metals, instructed Mike that the Hunts might need contributed 50 to 75 cents to the silver worth — not $50.
So, what really moved silver?
The Actual Driver: The Public, Not the Hunts
The historic document makes one factor clear: The actual drive behind the silver spike was unusual traders altering their choice from gold to silver.
This half is nearly by no means mentioned in mainstream retellings — but it explains the magnitude of the transfer much better than the Hunt principle ever did.
As inflation surged and belief within the greenback collapsed, traders worldwide started scrambling for options. Silver, being far cheaper than gold and much simpler to build up rapidly, turned the go-to refuge.
When the general public stampedes, markets reply accordingly. However then one thing far stranger occurred…
Sudden Rule Modifications: Margin Hikes, Place Limits, and… “Promote-Solely”?
On the identical second the silver market was overheating, the Commodities Futures Buying and selling Fee (CFTC) — with lively involvement from Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker — carried out a sequence of extraordinary rule modifications:
- Huge margin will increase
- And essentially the most surprising: a “liquidation solely” order
That ultimate rule meant you might promote silver… however you have been not permitted to purchase.
Mike factors out the plain: A rule like that ensures costs should fall — and fall laborious — till the order is lifted.
Why would the Fed Chair be concerned in selections about futures market guidelines?
Mike’s principle: to avoid wasting the U.S. greenback.
Was Silver a Scapegoat for a Gold Drawback?
Mike shares a compelling speculation — not a definitive declare, however one supported by the timeline:
- In early 1980, gold was in a runaway
- The greenback was weakening quick
- Valuable metals demand was exploding worldwide
- Solely ~10% of the worldwide inhabitants might legally purchase gold on open markets
In that surroundings, stopping gold meant sending a message. And the silver market was the proper stage:
- Extremely concentrated in positions held by the Hunts
- Proper subsequent door to the gold pit on the buying and selling ground
If regulators crushed silver — publicly and dramatically — what would gold merchants assume?
Mike recounts tales from the buying and selling ground: silver merchants getting back from the restroom telling gold merchants, “If they will do that to silver, we’re subsequent.”
And on January 21, 1980, each gold and silver peaked on the very same day.
The Greenback Disaster Virtually No One Talks About
Mike emphasizes a degree most historians skip… The U.S. got here dangerously near shedding management of the greenback in January 1980.
Demand for gold was hovering in North America and Western Europe — the one locations the place buying and selling was authorized and liquid on the time. Since then, the variety of individuals with entry to gold markets has grown 18×, amplifying any future runaway circumstances.
What occurred in 1980 wasn’t only a metals story. It was a financial story — one with echoes that attain instantly into immediately’s inflation, debt, and foreign money issues.
Closing Ideas: The Delusion Was Handy
The “Hunt brothers cornered silver” story is straightforward to repeat, straightforward to show, and straightforward responsible.
However the actual forces at work have been:
- Regulatory intervention
- A gold market transferring too quick for consolation
And a authorities that couldn’t afford to let treasured metals sign simply how fragile the system had turn into.
When you see the fuller image, the outdated narrative not is sensible.
Watch Mike’s Full Breakdown
This text solely scratches the floor of what Mike uncovers.
To know the actual dynamics behind one of the misunderstood moments in market historical past, watch the total video right here:
The Hunt Brothers Silver Story Is Not What It Appears — Full Video
Folks Additionally Ask
Did the Hunt brothers actually nook the silver market in 1980?
Most proof reveals they did not nook the silver market. Analysis and knowledgeable interviews point out their affect on the silver worth was small—possibly 50–75 cents—in comparison with the huge public demand on the time. Mike Maloney breaks down the actual elements behind the spike in his full video on GoldSilver’s YouTube channel.
What really brought about silver to hit $50 an oz in 1980?
The silver spike was largely pushed by international traders shifting from gold into silver as inflation surged and confidence within the greenback fell. Regulatory modifications and market panic amplified the transfer. Watch Mike Maloney’s full rationalization for a data-backed breakdown of what actually occurred.
Why did regulators impose “liquidation solely” guidelines on silver?
The CFTC, with involvement from Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker, carried out “sell-only” guidelines to drive the market downward throughout a interval of maximum volatility. This assured falling costs and helped cool off each the silver and gold markets.
How have been the Hunt brothers used as scapegoats for the gold market?
Mike Maloney suggests the Hunts might have been a handy instance to discourage runaway demand in gold. Silver was a smaller, simpler market to affect, and suppressing it despatched a message to gold merchants subsequent door on the change ground. You’ll be able to be taught extra about this principle in Mike’s full video breakdown of the occasion.
Why did gold and silver peak on the identical day in 1980?
Each metals peaked on January 21, 1980, shortly after new buying and selling restrictions hit the silver market. Merchants feared related intervention in gold, triggering simultaneous sell-offs. Mike Maloney explores the timing, motives, and market psychology behind this uncommon occasion in his newest video.
