Silver Price Crash? Open Interest Says This Could Be a Bear Trap Instead

2026-2-19 03:00

The Silver price just took a hard hit, and the drop has many traders calling it a full crash. But one lesser-known analyst, Ted Darret, shared an interesting take that points to something else happening under the surface.

His argument is that if this were a real liquidation collapse, open interest would have fallen sharply alongside price. 

Instead, the silver price dumped hard, but open interest only dropped around 20%. That means most long positions are still sitting there, underwater, but not exiting. 

That detail matters, because it changes the story from “everyone bailed” to “the battle isn’t over yet.”

Silver price crash ? No its a Bear Trapped

In a normal liquidation event (a true crash), Price drops 50% and Open Interest (OI) also drops 50% because the Longs have fled the building. The fact that Price collapsed but OI only dropped 20% means 80% of the Long positions are… pic.twitter.com/Xau8ZpUdO1

— Ted Darret (@TDarret) February 18, 2026 Silver Price Fell, But Longs Didn’t Leave

Darret explains that in a true washout, longs usually panic out of the market. Open interest falls because positions get closed and the trade resets.

This time, open interest stayed high. In his view, that suggests the selling pressure wasn’t mostly longs giving up. It was new shorts piling in near the lows, expecting one more leg down.

That creates a risky setup for those late shorts. If the Silver price can’t fall much further, their upside is limited. But if silver bounces even slightly, their downside grows fast.

However, Darret describes the current phase as a “game of chicken.” In the short term, the silver price may drift sideways or grind slightly lower as the market tries to wear down stubborn longs. The key thing to watch is open interest.

If price stalls but open interest climbs, it means shorts are still adding fuel. If open interest starts falling instead, it could mean longs are finally giving up. This is the tension point where a bear trap often forms.

A Small Bounce Could Trigger a Fast Reversal For Silver

The bigger risk for shorts is that it doesn’t take much to flip the move.

A weak economic headline, a surprise geopolitical event, or even a technical rebound could push silver up a few percent. Once that happens, shorts who entered late start getting squeezed.

Covering turns into forced buying, and forced buying can turn into a sharp snap-back rally that looks like it came “out of nowhere.” That’s how V-shaped recoveries happen.

Read Also: Hedera (HBAR) Just Entered Its Final Fear Phase: History Says Massive Spike Could Follow

Why Open Interest Makes This Setup Different

Darret also points out the pressure building from margin requirements.

Big drops raise volatility, and exchanges often increase margin demands. Longs have to keep posting collateral to stay in the trade.

If they survive without folding, the downside pressure weakens. Shorts then become the ones trapped, not the bulls.

Silver Price Outlook: Bear Trap or Breakdown?

Darret’s view is that silver may still see short-term flushing around the $73–$74 zone, but the bigger move could be a rebound back toward $85 or higher if shorts start covering.

Nothing is guaranteed, but the open interest data makes this drop look less like a clean capitulation and more like a market stuck in a tense positioning fight.

The Silver price may not be done yet, and the next move could surprise traders on both sides.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel for daily crypto updates, market insights, and expert analysis.

The post Silver Price Crash? Open Interest Says This Could Be a Bear Trap Instead appeared first on CaptainAltcoin.

origin »

Bitcoin price in Telegram @btc_price_every_hour

ETH/LINK Price Action Candlestick Set (LINKETHPA) на Currencies.ru

$ 467.1 (+0.48%)
Объем 24H $0
Изменеия 24h: 0.85 %, 7d: 17.53 %
Cегодня L: $453.49 - H: $467.1
Капитализация $0 Rank 3676
Доступно / Всего 0 LINKETHPA

price silver crash darret shared ted lesser-known

price silver → Результатов: 126


This Silver Fractal Suggests Ethereum Could Soon See a Parabolic Breakout

The markets have favored the underdogs throughout the past week, with silver and Ethereum both outperforming their larger counterparts. Although there aren’t any noticeable connections between the two assets, their price action in recent times has been strikingly similar, and it does appear that ETH is forming a fractal pattern with the precious metal. If […]

2020-7-26 04:00


Фото:

Fund Manager Disproves Popular Stock-to-Flow Model Projecting Bitcoin At $100K By 2021

Last year’s March, a crypto analyst PlanB, who is now known primarily due to his Stock-to-Flow model, proposed a completely new perspective on predicting the price of Bitcoin. This popularized model is based on the idea that the value of scarce assets (such as gold, silver, and of course, Bitcoin) correlates strongly with their scarcity, […]

2020-7-2 09:50


Фото:

This Silver Fractal Suggests Bitcoin Could Soon See a Parabolic Rally

Bitcoin’s well-established consolidation trend is showing no signs of ending anytime soon, as the crypto is still hovering within the mid-$9,000 region Each attempt to break above or below the upper and lower boundaries of its current trading range have been unsuccessful There is, however, one fractal pattern that bodes well for the crypto’s bulls One analyst is pointing to similarities between previous silver price action and Bitcoin for insights into where the benchmark digital […]

2020-6-18 21:00


Litecoin looks to gain movement with potential inverted bart formation

Litecoin was pegged to boom this year, given the historical block reward halving which took place on August 4th; but in contrast, the silver altcoin failed to see its price climb. Soon after, the altcoin saw the formation of death cross on 30th August which is considered highly bearish as it indicated the potential for […] The post Litecoin looks to gain movement with potential inverted bart formation appeared first on AMBCrypto.

2019-10-19 21:00