How Nickel Doubled to $100K in One Hour
43sAn insane 300% price spike driven by sanctions makes for an unbelievable market meltdown moment.
▶ Play ClipAI Summary
This video recounts the dramatic nickel market spike of March 2022, when sanctions against Russia disrupted supply and prices more than doubled in a single hour. It explains how the London exchange halted trading, cancelled around $12 billion in transactions, and later faced a €9.5 million regulatory fine.
Chapters
[00:02]
Sanctions and the nickel supply shock
Late February or early March 2022, sanctions against Russia multiplied. Because Russia was a major nickel supplier to Europe, disrupted supply chains caused nickel demand to grow exponentially, pushing prices up almost 300% in three days.
[00:17]
Nickel doubles in one hour
On March 8, 2022, nickel made an 'impossible feat': the price doubled in just one hour and exceeded $100,000 per ton on physical commodity futures.
[00:45]
Exchange halts trading and cancels trades
To quell panic, London's central stock exchange halted trading, claiming the move was manipulated—allegedly by Russian hackers. It then cancelled all nickel transactions made that day, affecting around $12 billion.
[01:12]
Scandal and the small print defense
A major scandal erupted over the violation of fair purchase and sale rights. Sellers who sold nickel at inflated prices refused to restore transactions, and the exchange said the sellers hadn't read the small print, meaning no one owed them anything.
[01:39]
Trading frozen for a week
Nickel trading was frozen for almost a whole week and restored on March 16 with restrictions to prevent another spike.
[01:53]
Regulator fines the exchange
The UK regulator later investigated the exchange's actions. In 2025, it fined the exchange €9.5 million for system and control failures during the nickel panic—an amount the exchange could easily cover.
The nickel episode shows both the fragility of commodity markets under geopolitical stress and the enormous power exchanges hold over trading outcomes—including the ability to retroactively cancel trades.
Mentioned in this Video
Study Flashcards (7)
What drove nickel demand to grow exponentially in early 2022?
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What drove nickel demand to grow exponentially in early 2022?
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Sanctions against Russia, a major nickel supplier to Europe, disrupted supply chains.
00:02
What price did nickel exceed on March 8, 2022?
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What price did nickel exceed on March 8, 2022?
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It exceeded $100,000 per ton after doubling in one hour.
00:31
Why did the London exchange claim it halted nickel trading?
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Why did the London exchange claim it halted nickel trading?
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It claimed the movement was manipulated, allegedly by Russian hackers.
00:45
How much were the nickel transactions cancelled by the exchange worth?
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How much were the nickel transactions cancelled by the exchange worth?
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Around $12 billion.
00:59
What was the exchange's justification for not restoring cancelled nickel trades?
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What was the exchange's justification for not restoring cancelled nickel trades?
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It said the sellers hadn't read the small print, which stated that no one owed them anything.
01:26
On what date was nickel trading restored after the freeze?
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On what date was nickel trading restored after the freeze?
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March 16, with restrictions.
01:39
What was the UK regulator's 2025 fine against the exchange, and for what reason?
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What was the UK regulator's 2025 fine against the exchange, and for what reason?
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€9.5 million for system and control failures during the nickel panic.
01:53
💡 Key Takeaways
📊
Nickel doubles in one hour
A concrete example of how quickly supply panic can move commodity prices.
00:17
💡
Exchange halts trading over manipulation claims
Shows how exchanges can unilaterally intervene in markets, citing manipulation by 'Russian hackers'.
00:45
⚖️
The small print defense
Reveals how contractual fine print can be used to avoid compensating traders.
01:26
📊
€9.5 million fine for control failures
A rare regulatory action that signals the exchange's failures, though the fine was tiny relative to its revenue.
01:53Full Transcript
[00:02] gold and other precious metals rising like crazy. What do you think about nickel, which has risen almost 300% in 3 days? End of February, beginning of March 2022. News about sanctions against Russia multiplied day by day. Russia was an important and
[00:17] large supplier of nickel to Europe. Sanctions disrupted supply chains and caused demand for nickel to grow exponentially. Already on March 8, 1922, nickel made an impossible feat in just one hour. The price
[00:31] doubled and exceeded $100,000 per ton. We are talking about real physical goods and commodity futures. In this case, after purchasing nickel on the exchange, you should have received this nickel in physical
[00:45] form. To quell panic, London's central stock exchange halts trading. Considering this movement to be manipulated allegedly by Russian [music] hackers. Of course, Russian hackers are to blame for everything, and afterwards the exchange cancelled all
[00:59] nickel transactions [music] made that day. At that time, the courts heard figures of around $12 billion in cancelled transactions. The event took place in London. Otherwise, I would have thought [music] that the exchange was headed by Larisa Dolina. A
[01:12] major scandal immediately erupts in Europe . The right to fair purchase and sale was violated. And after the price returned to normal levels of 20-30,000 dollars per ton, sellers who sold nickel at
[01:26] adamant and did not restore the transactions. You, the exchange says, didn't read the small print at the end of the contract. And if you had read it, you would have known that no one owes you anything. And
[01:39] . Nickel trading was ultimately frozen for almost a whole week. On March 16, they were restored, but with restrictions, so as not to blow the roof off again. The story was so high-profile that
[01:53] the regulator later officially investigated the exchanges' actions. In 2025, the UK regulator fined the exchange €9.5 million [music] for system and control failures during the nickel panic. This amount is
[02:07] so insignificant for the exchange that if the employees of this very exchange refused the morning American, they would be able to compensate for everything in a month.
