Silver prices extended their brutal sell-off on February 5, 2026, dropping over 13% intraday to test new lows below $80 per ounce as of 11:19 AM EST (LSEG Workspace data cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST). This follows the historic January 30, 2026 crash that saw silver plunge 39% from $121 to $85 (Kitco live spot pricing and Trading Economics CFD data as of January 30, 2026, 4:00 PM EST), marking the worst single-day drop since March 1980 (Barron's, January 30, 2026). The recent turmoil has left investors asking: what happened to silver prices, why silver crashed, is silver a buy now, and what is silver's next move?
A premium ZeroHedge article titled "Post-Silvergeddon: Bagholders, Broken Vol, And Bidless" (February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST) from The Market Ear analyzes the chaos, noting "Parabolic moves always end in tears... Now it’s suddenly all psychology and technicals, from the same crowd." The piece highlights technical breakdowns, extreme volatility (90–100 range), severe long reduction, CTA liquidation, and bagholders in leveraged ETFs like AGQ. This silver market analysis explores what has (and hasn't) changed post-crash, silver price outlook and silver market outlook, silver futures market dynamics, silver price volatility and precious metals volatility, silver industrial demand and silver supply deficit, silver price correction and silver recovery potential, silver trend analysis and silver support levels, silver market fundamentals vs. speculation, and silver long-term outlook. We'll address people also asked like what happened to silver prices and why silver crashed.
The Post-Crash Reality: Technical Massacre and Extreme Volatility
The Market Ear describes the January 30 event as "Silvergeddon," noting "Silver’s super-squeeze is running out of superlatives. Price action now looks more like a meme stock than a ‘serious’ hard asset" (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST). The February 5 extension — down over 13% — took silver below the 50-day MA, printing a "nasty down candle" (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST). Key levels: "$72 is the key level to watch. A close below it leaves little meaningful support until much lower, with the 200-day sitting around $50" (LSEG Workspace cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver price volatility remains extreme: "Silver volatility remains at extreme levels... When vol trades in the 90–100 range, the asset behaves more like a meme stock than a “serious” market. Expect far more erratic moves and continued agony, including P&L pain" (LSEG Workspace cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST). This precious metals volatility is "broken," making risk reshuffling difficult (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver futures market saw severe long reduction: JPM's Nikos reported "Severe reduction in silver longs" (JPM chart cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST). CTAs "puked size in silver" (Menthor Q cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
What happened to silver prices? "Parabolic moves always end in tears... It’s clearly an added short-term risk to Gold here" (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Why silver crashed? Momentum turned to psychology: "The silver squeeze pulled in a wave of inexperienced momentum chasers. Many in the FOMO crowd went all-in at the highs via leveraged silver ETFs like AGQ, which would now need to more than triple just to get them back to breakeven. For most, those dreams are gone" (LSEG Workspace cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver Market Fundamentals: Deficits and Demand Unchanged
Silver market fundamentals remain strong despite the crash. The 2025 deficit was 117 million ounces, with industrial demand at a record 1.12 billion ounces (Silver Institute World Silver Survey 2025, November 13, 2025). Supply constraints persist, with 2026 deficits projected at 150–200 million ounces (BMO Capital Markets, January 2026 note).
Silver industrial demand: Up 5% YoY in 2025, driven by solar (20% of demand) and EVs (Silver Institute November 13, 2025). This supports silver long-term outlook, even as speculation unwinds.
Silver supply deficit: Mining output flat at 800–850 million ounces in 2025 (USGS, January 2025), unable to meet demand.
The crash changed sentiment, but not fundamentals — "Oversold... but silver is far from extremely oversold" (LSEG Workspace cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver Price Outlook: Consolidation Before Next Move
Silver price outlook 2026: BofA $56–$65/oz average, upside to $70+ (December 2025); JPM $58/oz (December 16, 2025); GoldSilver.com above $100 (January 2026). Consensus: 5–15% gains (WGC December 2025).
Silver market outlook: The Market Ear (February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST): "Silver is far from extremely oversold... Expect far more erratic moves."
Silver price forecast: Moderate rebound, but "when vol trades in the 90–100 range... continued agony" (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver recovery: Possible if deficits reassert, but near-term silver next move is down if $72 breaks (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver Trend Analysis: Technicals Signal Caution
Silver trend analysis: "Reversed right at the 21-day MA on the bounce and is now taking out the 50-day, printing a nasty down candle" (LSEG Workspace cited in The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST). Silver support levels: $72 key, then 200-day around $50 (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver price correction: "Oversold... but far from extremely oversold" (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Silver bull case: Fundamentals intact, but speculation unwound.
Silver Market Volatility: A Broken Market
Silver market volatility: 90–100 range (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST). "Silver, especially its volatility, is a broken market. Meaningful risk reshuffling is impossible" (The Market Ear, February 5, 2026, 11:19 AM EST).
Precious metals volatility similar, with gold at 25% implied (CME January 30, 2026).
Is silver a buy now? Cautious — wait for exhaustion.
Implications for Canadian Silver Mining Stocks
Silver mining stocks Canada like PAAS.TO dropped 20–25% (Yahoo Finance January 30, 2026), but low AISC $15/oz (Q3 2025 MD&A) offers buffer.
Junior silver mining stocks like DV.V: Exploration upside in volatility.
Strategies: Navigating the Chaos
For silver market analysis, focus on deficits. Portfolio: 10–15% silver for hedge.
Conclusion: Fundamentals Unchanged, Volatility Rules
The crash changed positioning, not fundamentals. Silver long-term outlook positive, but caution near-term.
Take a deep breath - sit tight, be right,
CanadianMiningReport.com
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Author
Ben McGregor authors the Weekly Roundup at CanadianMiningReport.com, providing sharp analysis of the metals and mining sector. With a talent for spotting trends, Ben distills complex market shifts into clear, engaging insights on TSXV junior miners. His weekly updates cover gold, copper, uranium, and more, blending data-driven perspectives with a knack for identifying opportunities. A vital resource for investors, Ben’s work navigates the dynamic junior mining landscape with precision.