In the week leading up to the February 6, 2026 update, silver surged to a yearly high before collapsing nearly 30% last Friday, then repeatedly rebounded and slid, with spot prices hitting $73 per ounce by Thursday night and New York futures at $72.34. UBS flagged one-month silver volatility above 100%, warned that levels above $85 may be hard to sustain without persistent inflows, and highlighted rich option pricing. The sharpest intraday crash occurred on January 30, when the leveraged AGQ ETF was already down heavily and dumped nearly $4 billion in silver futures, while analysts noted that leveraged products and intense retail demand are distorting trading patterns and could keep prices unstable.

Chinese investors are channeling excess liquidity into metals futures, driving sharp gains in copper, gold, and silver despite weak factory demand. As China's M2 money supply rose 8.5% year-on-year in December while quarterly GDP grew 3.9% in late 2025, speculative trading has surged across metals like silver, aluminum, nickel, tin, and steel wire rod. Copper recently climbed above $14,500 per ton before sliding to $12,750 on the London Metal Exchange, with analysts warning that prices remain largely driven by speculation rather than real consumption.

On Thursday, Tether said it invested $150 million for about a 12% stake in Gold.com and plans to integrate Tether Gold (XAUt) into the platform. The companies are also studying ways for customers to buy physical gold using USDt (USDT) and USAt (USAT), which Tether launched with Anchorage Digital on Jan. 27.

On February 5, 2026, Strategy reported a $12.4 billion net loss for Q4 2025, driven by mark-to-market declines on its Bitcoin holdings. Bitcoin briefly fell below $60,000, pushing the position under its cumulative cost basis for the first time since 2023, while the firm announced no new equity or debt alongside earnings.

On Thursday, shares of Bitcoin mining firms IREN and CleanSpark declined sharply after both companies reported quarterly earnings that fell short of analyst expectations. CleanSpark closed down 19.13% and IREN fell 11.46% during the session, while broader crypto markets weakened with Bitcoin dropping 12% in 24 hours and total market capitalization sliding nearly 9%.

Tether said Thursday it committed $150 million for a 12% stake in Gold.com, with plans to integrate its gold-backed XAUT token into the platform. The companies will also explore enabling physical bullion purchases using USDT and the newly launched USAT, alongside Tether’s separate $100 million investment in Anchorage Digital announced on February 5, 2026.

In its Q4 2025 results, Bitcoin‑focused treasury firm Strategy Inc reported a net loss of about 12.4–12.6 billion USD as BTC fell over 20% from its October high to below 88,500 USD by year‑end, dragging its 713,502 BTC stash roughly 17.4 billion USD into unrealized loss territory. The company's shares dropped 17% in after‑hours trading and are down more than 30% from late‑2025 peaks, while a 2.25 billion USD cash reserve is intended to cover around 2.5 years of dividends and interest without liquidating Bitcoin.

At the Asia market open, Bitcoin fell more than 10% toward $64,000, marking its weakest level since late 2024 as selling swept through risk assets. Asia equities declined alongside crypto, and exchange-traded funds saw significant outflows in recent months. Broader volatility picked up across tech and precious metals amid risk-off sentiment.