People power taking out Wall Street is an unexpected development with serious implications. It appears to be fuelled by helicopter drops of USD into the hands of a disillusioned public. Their quick grasp of what is required to dethrone the Masters of the Universe is remarkable.

That description was given to hedge fund managers back in the nineties. It is turning out that the real masters are the otherwise slumbering masses. And the fact that Robinhood has run out of balance sheet won’t stop them. The squeeze on the shorts will continue to intensify.

This is disruptive at a time when the broader equity market (S&P500 etc.) is running out of steam. Hedge funds will be forced to sell other stocks to cover losses and prices will begin to front-run their desperation. The Fed’s creation of a wealth effect by inflation might fail.

The reddit gang have also spotted the weakness of bullion banks in an illiquid market. On Comex they are short 100m ounces with little liquidity in London. The recommendation to their followers to buy SLV has started a crisis for which bullion banks have been wholly unprepared.

It was notable that not just silver, but last Thursday gold, platinum, palladium and even oil rose at the same time as silver suddenly took off. Clearly, the reddit gang has the potential to disturb markets far larger than just a few selected stocks on Nasdaq.