Amid a sharp correction in the silver market, the Zhongcai Futures seat established a short position of 25,000 lots on January 29, potentially generating floating profits exceeding 4 billion yuan within just five trading days. It was observed that the Zhongcai Futures seat quietly built this short position during a period of accelerated price gains in silver futures, becoming the largest short position holder. This was not the first time the seat had initiated short positions. Previously, when silver prices were at relatively low levels in 2023 and 2024, the seat was the largest long position holder in Shanghai silver futures and remained a major long force in the first half of 2025.

Recently, the silver market experienced significant volatility, with the main Shanghai silver futures contract plunging from a historic high of 33,488 yuan per kilogram on January 30 to a low of 19,383 yuan per kilogram on February 5. The maximum decline over this five-day period reached 42%.

During this sharp downturn, reports emerged of substantial losses among long position holders. However, the Zhongcai Futures seat attracted market attention by establishing a large short position just before the steep decline.

As of February 4, the net short position held by the Zhongcai Futures seat stood at 30,017 lots, accounting for 4.91% of the total open interest in Shanghai Futures Exchange silver contracts. This position is equivalent to a short exposure of 450 tons of silver. Based on the closing price of the main silver futures contract on February 4, which was 24,222 yuan per kilogram, the notional value of this position reached 10.9 billion yuan.

The Zhongcai Futures seat is also the largest short position holder in silver futures, with its net short position significantly exceeding that of the second-ranked Orient Futures seat, which held 19,412 lots.

The buildup of this short position by the Zhongcai Futures seat primarily occurred in late January, coinciding with a phase of rapid silver price appreciation and heightened market sentiment.

Data from iFinD shows that the net short position of the Zhongcai Futures seat fluctuated around 1,600 lots between January 19 and January 23. A substantial increase began after January 23, with the net short position rising daily from January 26 to February 2, peaking at 32,292 lots on February 2.

Notably, Shanghai silver futures began a sharp upward trend starting January 23, reaching a peak on January 30. The main contract surged from a low of 23,119 yuan per kilogram on January 23 to a high of 33,488 yuan per kilogram on January 30, a maximum gain of 44.85% in just six trading days.

It was during this rapid price increase that the Zhongcai Futures seat established its significant short position. The seat's net short positions from January 26 to January 30 were 7,918, 11,549, 18,660, 25,266, and 28,609 lots respectively, reaching 32,292 lots on February 2.

Taking the net short position of 25,000 lots held on January 29 as an example, the main silver futures contract fell from a closing price of 32,060 yuan per kilogram on January 29 to 21,171 yuan per kilogram on February 5. If the position was held unchanged during the five trading days from January 30 to February 5, the estimated floating profit would be approximately 4.1 billion yuan. In practice, since the beginning of February, the net short position of the Zhongcai Futures seat has consistently remained above 30,000 lots. However, comprehensive profit calculations must deduct losses incurred during the initial establishment of the short position.

A representative from Zhongcai Futures stated that the position data and changes published by the exchange for their seat reflect the position adjustments of the company's clients in silver futures contracts.

This is not the first instance of the Zhongcai Futures seat establishing short positions in silver. Reviewing historical data shows that the seat began experimenting with short positions as early as November 2025, although the net short volume at that time was relatively small compared to current levels.

For example, iFinD data indicates that on November 27, 2025, the net short position of the Zhongcai Futures seat surged from 2,353 lots to 17,642 lots. However, by December 1, 2025, as Shanghai silver futures reached new highs, the net short position quickly decreased to 3,174 lots.

After mid-December 2025, the net short position in silver for the Zhongcai Futures seat began increasing again, peaking at 8,736 lots on December 26, 2025. But as silver futures prices rose, the seat's net short exposure decreased, eventually falling to zero lots by January 13, 2026.

Historically, the Zhongcai Futures seat was the largest long position holder in Shanghai silver futures. For instance, during March 2025, its net long position once exceeded 40,000 lots, ranking first among all futures company seats. In May 2025, the seat frequently held net long positions around 30,000 lots, often ranking second. At that time, Shanghai silver futures were trading below 9,000 yuan per kilogram.

The most significant long positioning by the Zhongcai Futures seat occurred in 2023. From the fourth quarter of 2023 to the first quarter of 2024, its net long position in silver futures frequently exceeded 80,000 lots. On October 10, 2023, its net long position even surpassed 100,000 lots, while the second-ranked Baocheng Futures held a net long position of only 25,600 lots. Prior to the first quarter of 2024, silver futures prices were predominantly below 6,000 yuan per kilogram.

The Zhongcai Futures seat is not new to making headlines in the precious metals market. In 2024, the seat gained significant recognition for realizing substantial floating profits from heavy long positions in gold futures.