Can Reddit traders do for silver what they did for GameStop (GME 0.19%)? They're certainly going to try: the price of the precious metal is spiking today, and #silversqueeze is trending on Twitter.
Born of the same group of investors who sent shares of the video game retailer rocketing 325% higher last week, shares of silver miners like Coeur Mining (CDE +2.32%) were soaring 30% higher in premarket trading while the exchange traded fund iShares Silver Trust (SLV +5.64%) was up 9%.
The precious metal is seen by some as a way to punish Wall Street banks as a populist mood sweeps across investing discussion boards. It's a movement that is spreading out from its initial attempts to trap hedge funds that took enormous short positions on GameStop, AMC Entertainment (AMC +0.88%), and a number of other issues.
According to one user on the subReddit WallStreetBets referencing the silver ETF, "SLV will destroy the biggest banks, not just some little hedge funds."
Image source: Getty Images.
The gray lady
One target of ire is JPMorgan Chase (JPM 1.90%), which paid nearly $1 billion in fines last year for engaging in "deceptive conduct" and manipulative trades tied to precious metals and Treasuries.
Some were skeptical of the effort, believing it may be orchestrated by those trying to mitigate the ongoing GameStop squeeze, while others weren't sure the effort would translate well into the inherently-volatile commodities market.
While the price of silver and silver issues were higher Monday, shares had already been rising due to current economic conditions and prospects for more stimulus spending on the horizon.
Still, bullion traders were reporting "unprecedented" demand for silver, reporting that they could not immediately accept new orders.
