Rumors about Zhongcai Futures accurately shorting silver and earning 3.6 billion yuan in three days have pushed the Shanghai futures firm into the spotlight. Data released by the Shanghai Futures Exchange shows that as of February 2, Zhongcai Futures held a total of 32,300 short positions in silver futures, with a corresponding nominal value reaching tens of billions of yuan. From January 30 to February 2, silver futures experienced a sharp decline, with the main Shanghai silver futures contract falling cumulatively by 27.88%, a drop of over 8,200 yuan per kilogram. With each Shanghai silver futures contract representing 15 kilograms, combined with Zhongcai Futures' (client) short position holdings, the firm's short positions yielded profits exceeding 3.6 billion yuan. The "client" behind this massive profit is alleged to be Bian Ximing, Chairman and actual controller of Zhongcai Futures.
Subsequently, Zhongcai Futures publicly responded, stating that the position data and changes in silver futures contracts published by the exchange for Zhongcai Futures' seat reflect the position changes of the firm's clients in silver futures. The company itself adheres to compliant operations, and the rumors mistakenly attribute overall client behavior to the firm's proprietary trading. On the afternoon of February 9, a relevant responsible person at Zhongcai Futures' Shanghai Lujiazui office stated, "External reports about Bian Ximing profiting 3.6 billion yuan from shorting silver are highly exaggerated. Any investor familiar with futures trading knows that neither futures firm executives nor practitioners are allowed to participate in market trading. The short positions shown by the company are based on client orders; the company is only responsible for execution."
Notably, starting from February 5, the Shanghai Futures Exchange issued multiple announcements imposing restrictions on opening new positions for certain clients, aiming to address investment risks amid the current "high winds and rough waves" in precious metal prices in the futures market.
The market is curious why Zhongcai Futures suddenly became a major holder of short positions in silver futures. A review of previous days' position data from the Shanghai Futures Exchange reveals that on January 20, Zhongcai Futures (client) only appeared in the position rankings for the AG2606 contract, holding 1,757 short positions at that time. However, one week later, on January 27, the seat appeared in the position rankings for AG2602, AG2604, AG2606, and AG2608 contracts, primarily ranking high in sell order holdings, with a total of 11,500 sell orders across the four contracts. On January 28, Zhongcai Futures held significant short positions in the aforementioned four contracts plus the AG2610 contract, totaling 18,700 sell orders across the five contracts. On January 29, an additional contract, AG2612, showed significant short positions, and this contract also had high trading volume; Zhongcai Futures (client) held over 25,000 sell orders across these contracts. On January 30, the seat only appeared in the top rankings for sell orders in AG2604, AG2606, AG2608, AG2610, and AG2612 contracts, holding a total of 28,600 sell orders; Shanghai silver futures began a correction that day. On February 2, Shanghai silver futures continued to correct, with the main contract hitting the limit down; Zhongcai Futures (client) held 32,300 sell orders across the aforementioned multiple contracts that day. On February 3, Zhongcai Futures (client) still held over 30,000 sell orders, but reduced compared to the previous day, with decreases in AG2612, AG2610, and AG2608; Shanghai silver futures continued to correct that day. On February 4, Shanghai silver futures rebounded somewhat, and Zhongcai Futures' (client) sell order holdings changed little compared to the previous day. As of February 5, Zhongcai Futures (client) still ranked high in sell order holdings across multiple Shanghai silver futures contracts, with a total of 37,400 sell orders; Shanghai silver futures closed lower that day.
"A large number of short positions, coupled with the continuous decline in silver futures, naturally attracted market attention, especially as long position holders suffered significant losses. However, in terms of market standing, Zhongcai Futures is only a mid-sized firm, not comparable to top-tier futures companies. Its clients began密集 placing short bets from late January and profited from the sharp drop in silver futures,客观上 putting the company in the spotlight," said Huang Nan (pseudonym), a资深 industry insider in Shanghai's futures market, on February 8.
In fact, the Shanghai Futures Exchange website daily discloses the top twenty rankings for trading volume and positions by member/overseas special participant for various products, with data constantly updated. As of February 5, Zhongcai Futures still appeared in the top twenty rankings for sell orders in several Shanghai silver futures contracts. For example, in the 2608, 2610, and 2612 contracts, the member unit ranked high in sell order holdings. However, by February 9, Zhongcai Futures no longer appeared in the top twenty sell orders for Shanghai silver futures.
"The data disclosed in the rankings does not actually represent the proprietary trading positions of each futures firm, but rather the aggregate positions of all their clients. Futures firms provide futures trading services to their clients through their seats, so this does not represent an individual's or the company's trading positions. Zhongcai Futures' clients collectively hold a large number of short positions, but this cannot be attributed to an individual. For financial institutions, client transaction information is certainly confidential," revealed Kan Kaidong, a trader at a leading Shanghai futures firm, on February 8.
Who is Bian Ximing? The substantial increase in short positions at Zhongcai Futures combined with the sharp decline in silver futures led to huge profits for the firm's clients holding short positions, also bringing Zhongcai Futures Chairman and actual controller Bian Ximing into view. According to public information from Tianyancha, Zhongcai Futures' predecessor was Shanghai Hongda Futures, established as early as 1995; it was renamed Zhongcai Futures in 2003. Due to shareholder changes, Zhongcai Futures' legal representative is Bian Ximing. Zhongcai Futures' website also shows that Zhongcai Futures is currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zhongcai Industrial Development, and Bian Ximing is also the actual controller of Zhongcai Group. Zhongcai Chemical Building Materials, Zhongcai Financial Arc, Zhongcai Futures, Zhongcai Overseas Business, Zhongcai Capital Business, Private Finance Business, Zhongcai Ba Cai Business, and Property Finance Business are the eight business components of Zhongcai Group's commercial structure.
Further available information shows that Bian Ximing, aged 61, is the chairman of multiple enterprises including Zhongcai Group and Zhongcai Futures. Bian Ximing carries strong characteristics of China's first generation of industrialists. His starting point was a factory in Zhuji, Zhejiang. In 1995, Bian Ximing founded Zhongcai Pipes, specializing in PVC plastic pipes, which has long been ranked among China's top 500 private enterprises. In a blog post, Bian Ximing mentioned: A good investor must "let go of ego, have fewer obsessions, choose the right target, and then be stubborn." Focus on trends when selecting targets, timing when implementing projects, and costs when maintaining projects.
It is understood that, aside from the specific "client" behind the profit from Zhongcai Futures' tens of thousands of short positions betting on silver's decline in this round, previous media reports also highlighted Bian Ximing's long positions in gold and copper markets over the past few years, which not only earned him returns of several billion dollars but also demonstrated his strategic acumen at a macro level. Amid global central bank easing policies and rising inflationary pressures in 2022, Bian Ximing began establishing long positions in gold through Zhongcai Futures, betting that de-dollarization trends and geopolitical risks would drive up gold prices. As gold prices broke through $2,400 and even surged to highs above $5,000 thereafter, Bian Ximing's long bets on gold futures since 2022 have accumulated nearly $3 billion in profits. In May 2025, while the market was still沉浸在 in the gold rally, he turned his attention to copper. Based on structural demand from energy transition, electric vehicles, and data centers, coupled with supply uncertainties due to geopolitics, he established the largest net long position in copper on the Shanghai Futures Exchange, peaking at nearly 90,000 tons; this move also brought him returns of several hundred million dollars.
Some opinions评价 Bian Ximing称 that this 61-year-old entrepreneur plays a dominant role in his personal investments, and his firm stance on Zhongcai investments remains unchanged; even as some investors withdrew due to geopolitical turmoil, he planned to maintain this position. This persistence is interpreted as a reflection of his confidence in the metal market and the world's largest consumer market—the Chinese economy.
Amid "high winds and rough waves" in futures market trading, the Shanghai Futures Exchange began issuing "Announcements on Imposing Restrictions on Opening New Positions for Certain Clients" from January 21, with the total number of announcements exceeding ten. In these announcements, the exchange stated that on January 21, 2026, a group of accounts under actual control关系 exceeded the intraday opening limit for the first time in relevant contracts, reaching the exchange's handling standard. These clients' trading behaviors violated Article 16 of the "Shanghai Futures Exchange Abnormal Trading Behavior Management Measures," and the exchange decided to impose restrictions on opening new positions in the corresponding contracts for the relevant clients. On January 26, the exchange issued an "Announcement on Imposing Restrictions on Opening New Positions and Withdrawals for Relevant Clients," discovering that 3 groups involving 16 clients were suspected of failing to declare actual control relationships in tin and silver futures trading. According to relevant provisions of the "Shanghai Futures Exchange Trading Rules" and the "Shanghai Futures Exchange Actual Control Relationship Account Management Measures," the exchange decided to impose a one-month restriction on opening new positions and withdrawals in tin and silver futures for these clients. On the same day, the exchange issued another announcement on restricting opening new positions, stating that a group of accounts under actual control关系 exceeded the intraday opening limit for the first time in relevant contracts, reaching the exchange's handling standard. These clients' trading behaviors violated Article 16 of the "Shanghai Futures Exchange Abnormal Trading Behavior Management Measures," and the exchange decided to impose restrictions on opening new positions in the corresponding contracts for the relevant clients. From January 27 to February 9, the exchange issued similar regulatory measure announcements targeting different clients every trading day. On February 9, the exchange issued the "Announcement on Self-Regulatory Supervision Information for January 2026," indicating that to effectively strengthen risk prevention, enhance frontline supervision, standardize futures trading behavior, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of futures market participants, the Shanghai Futures Exchange continuously carries out self-regulatory supervision work. The self-regulatory supervision information for January 2026 is as follows: Regarding abnormal trading behavior management, 125 cases of abnormal trading behavior were handled, including 44 cases of self-trading exceeding limits, 41 cases of frequent order submission and cancellation exceeding limits, 2 cases of large-order submission and cancellation exceeding limits, and 38 cases of intraday opening volume exceeding limits; all clients meeting the abnormal trading handling standard were notified through their member firms. Restrictions on opening new positions were imposed on 1 client and 39 groups of accounts under actual control, with announcements made to the entire market. Regarding actual control relationship account identification and assistance: 252 groups involving 564 clients underwent actual control relationship identification; 19 groups involving 70 clients underwent actual control relationship assistance. The exchange reminded traders to pay attention to compliance risks in daily trading and properly report actual control relationship accounts.