Why Is Silver Falling? Jane Street’s $1.3B SLV Bet Sparks Manipulation Debate

The firm accused of crashing Bitcoin daily and front-running the $40 billion Terra collapse is also the largest holder of the world’s biggest silver ETF.

Jane Street added a record 20.6 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Silver Trust (SLV) in Q4 2025, per its latest 13F filing. That is a jump from roughly 41,000 shares the prior quarter. A 500x increase in one filing.

The position is worth approximately $1.3 billion. It places Jane Street above BlackRock itself, which added zero new shares, and Morgan Stanley, which sold 3.7 million.

87% Options, One Big Question

Over 87% of Jane Street’s $662 billion portfolio sits in options, according to filings cited by Bull Theory on X. The firm profits by creating and trading volatility with massive leverage.

When a firm with that kind of options exposure also controls the largest chunk of a physical silver ETF, the structure raises questions.

Same Firm, Three Markets, Three Accusations

Jane Street now faces allegations across three asset classes.

Terraform Labs’ bankruptcy administrator sued the firm for alleged insider trading during the 2022 Terra collapse. The lawsuit claims a Jane Street-linked wallet pulled 85 million UST from Curve3pool within minutes of Terraform’s unannounced $150 million withdrawal.

In India, SEBI accused the firm of manipulating the Bank Nifty index across 18 derivatives expiry days and ordered it to deposit roughly $566 million. The appeal hearing was adjourned February 25.

In crypto, traders accused Jane Street of running a daily “10 AM dump” on Bitcoin. That pattern allegedly broke after the Terraform lawsuit surfaced.

Jane Street has denied all claims, calling the Terraform suit “desperate” and “baseless.”

JPMorgan, the custodian of SLV’s physical silver, paid $920 million in 2020 to settle CFTC charges for spoofing precious metals over eight years.

What Silver Traders Should Watch

Silver has fallen over 30% from its January high near $121, dropping another 6.6% on March 3 to around $83. This is partly driven by broader market stress from the U.S.-Israel military strikes on Iran.

But the structural concern runs deeper. When the same firm faces manipulation accusations in equities, crypto, and stablecoins, then builds the largest position in the world’s biggest silver ETF backed by an options-heavy portfolio, traders are paying attention.

No regulator has opened a formal silver investigation yet.