Matthew Piepenburg: Silver's endgame is almost too obvious

11:37a ET Sunday, March 15, 2026 Dear Friend of GATA and Gold: Von Greyerz Gold Switzerland partner Matthew Piepenburg writes today that claims to Comex futures exchange silver now exceed metal actually available for delivery by a ratio of 7 to 1, and the ratio for the silver market as a whole now may be as wide as 350 to 1. ... Dispatch continues below ... ... ADVERTISEMENT ... Ultra-Secure Swiss Vault Storage from Tara Gold and Silver Ltd. Tara Gold is delighted to announce the launch of our ultra-secure gold and silver secure storage service. GATA followers can now own gold and silver coins and bars -- including the Gold and Silver Trees of Life — with fully segregated, allocated holdings in one of the safest vault providers in Switzerland and the world. All coins and bars are held in your name. Not a paper claim. Not someone else's liability. Real, physical precious metals you can visit, inspect, take delivery of, or sell at any time. Safety, Trust & Privacy: Our Swiss storage partner is Helveticor AG in Zurich. Tara Gold's Mark O'Byrne, after extensive international due diligence, served as Helveticor's global ambassador for two years and stores metal with them personally. He has known the owners and senior staff for 20 years and trusts their vaults implicitly. Your metals there are fully insured and held outside the banking system — no counterparty risk, no digital risk, and no fractional reserving, with complete discreetness and privacy. Liquidity: Switzerland is a primary hub for precious metals. You can sell quickly and competitively, with proceeds transferred directly to your bank account. Tax Efficiency: Gold and silver in Swiss-bonded vaults are exempt from sales taxes. You pay only if you remove bullion from Switzerland. For holdings of $100,000 or more, the combination of security, privacy, liquidity, and tax efficiency makes this a compelling international diversification. For rates, application forms, and all key information, visit here or contact GATA supporter Tara Gold and Silver Ltd.'s Mark O'Byrne at [email protected] or +353-12641850. Piepenburg writes: "There are more paper claims ('open interest') on the Comex silver exchange than there are actual ounces of 'registered' silver to meet delivery. In fact, there's only about 80 million ounces on hand to meet over 570 million ounces of delivery demand. "That's a levered mismatch of 7:1 at the Comex. "If we then consider the larger silver market itself, including exchange-traded fund silver, derivative claims, futures contracts, etc., many analysts in the commodity space are quoting the number of paper silver claims to actual silver ounces at a ratio of 350 to 1." Accordingly, Piepenburg writes, silver's endgame is almost too obvious, and his analysis is posted at the Von Greyerz internet site here: https://vongreyerz.gold/silvers-endgame-almost-too-obvious CHRIS POWELL, Secretary/Treasurer Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee Inc. [email protected] * * * Support GATA by purchasing Stuart Englert's "Rigged" "Rigged" is a concise explanation of government's currency market rigging policy and extensively credits GATA's work exposing it. Ten percent of sales proceeds are contributed to GATA. Buy a copy for $14.99 through Amazon: https://tinyurl.com/3xt6uw66 * * * Help keep GATA going: GATA is a civil rights and educational organization based in the United States and tax-exempt under the U.S. Internal Revenue Code. Its e-mail dispatches are free, and you can subscribe at: http://www.gata.org To contribute to GATA, please visit: http://www.gata.org/node/16 Donations of $500 or more will entitle the donor to a 1-ounce silver round commemorating GATA's work: https://www.gata.org/sites/default/files/GATA-silver-round-front.png