If you needed any more proof that the paper markets are a fiction factory, this past week delivered it on a silver platter — pun intended.

Silver touched $83 an ounce before the COMEX did what the COMEX always does: changed the rules mid-game. They jacked up margin requirements, triggering a forced liquidation cascade that hammered silver down to an intraday low of $71.20 on February 2nd. As I write this, we’re sitting around $74-77. In my opinion, this is a gift. A manufactured gift, courtesy of the same people who’ve been suppressing this market for decades.

Here’s what they don’t want you thinking about: COMEX registered silver inventories have dropped below 100 million ounces. Meanwhile, the March contract is showing 400+ million ounces of open interest. You don’t need a math degree to see the problem. That’s a 4:1 paper-to-physical ratio on registered metal alone. The “COMEX default in March” narrative is picking up steam, and while I’m not predicting a default ,— these guys have more tricks up their sleeves than a Vegas magician ,— the math is the math.

Over in Shanghai, silver is trading at a $10 premium to Western spot prices. Let me say that again: ten dollars an ounce more. The Shanghai Futures Exchange just shed 31.3 metric tons of inventory in a single session on February 8th, leaving them with 318 metric tons. And here’s the kicker,— Chinese billionaire trader Bian Ximing reportedly holds a 450 metric ton naked short position against an exchange that only has 318 metric tons left. Sound familiar? It should. It’s the same playbook the bullion banks have run on COMEX for years, except this time someone’s doing it on Shanghai’s turf. That’s a fire looking for a match.

Gold, meanwhile, continues its march toward $5,000. We pulled back from the $5,100 area and are consolidating around $4,900-$4,986. The FOMC minutes drop this week, and frankly, I don’t care what they say. Central banks globally are buying physical gold at a record pace — Reuters just confirmed 2026 is on track for another record year. They’re not buying because they think the dollar is sound. They’re buying because they know what’s coming.

In my opinion, this pullback in both metals is a buying opportunity. The physical market is screaming one thing while the paper market tries to whisper another. I know which one I’m listening to.

PLATINUM

SELL: On the Daily chart (26 January 2026) Rate of change improving may be bottoming in this range. No other signs of recovery yet.

URANIUM

SELL (29 January 2026) URA.

BITCOIN AND GOLD

Gold outperforms bitcoin  (18 December 2025).  13.32 one ounce gold coins buys one bitcoin, this was over 41 ounces almost a year ago. It appears that bitcoin is reversing. I could call a reversal here except that the chart is already overbought. It is worth waiting a while.

ETHUSD: BUY: (18 February 2026) Very early buy signal. Worth a try.

BTCUSD: SELL: 19 January 2026.  NASDAQ (Cyan). Note the divergence from the NASDAQ. Looking oversold. Similar chart to ETH, but OBV is not strong enough yet.

GOLD AND SILVER STOCKS

12 February 2026 Gold stocks outperform gold.

Silver stocks outperform silver (30 December 2025). Just look at the volatility! Silver stocks look like a great buy.

GOLD AND SILVER

Silver to Gold Ratio

Gold outperforming Silver. (30 January 2026)  Silver is coming out of the ground at about 8:1 and the Gold: Silver ratio is 64.51. The price crash has reversed the falling ratio of silver to gold. I feel confident that the downward trajectory will resume. I still have a bias to silver rather than gold. Time will tell. Rate of Change dropping. First sign of reversal.

GOLD TO USD

USD outperforms Gold, (30 January 2026). Although we have a change and the signals confirm it, there are signs that this will not be long lived.

A LOOK AT THE GOLD AND SILVER CHARTS

Gold’s low of the week was $4,837.00, and the high was $5,050.00, now trading at around $4,990.00.

• Gold Monthly:  is a HOLD. We bought at $1,800.00 in October 2023.  Looking overbought, but it can hold that situation for a while. No sell signal yet. Rate of change indicator weakening.

• Gold Weekly:  (HOLD 25 August 2025)   Overbought. No sell signals yet. Looking strong.

• Gold Daily: (HOLD: 12 November 2025).  The indicators are holding. Gold almost gave a sell signal, but seems to be holding by a hairsbreadth.

The low for Silver this week was $66.87 and the high $79.34, trading around $78.58 at present. 

• Silver Monthly: Hold. (Buy:  $24.00 March 2024). Looking overbought. No sell signal yet. I am not excited by the picture presented on this chart, but will wait for the sell signal. No sell yet.

• Silver Weekly: (SELL: 09 February 2026). If I were holding physical I would not be releasing it at these prices. As a trade I would follow the signal.

• Silver Daily: SELL (30 January 2026).  The spike low is potentially a turn around point. I am not seeing a turn around yet.

Our partner has a stock of both gold, silver, and Goldbacks in our vaults available in Panama. Please contact us for more information.

A video by Mike Adams on the Goldbacks. 

Well worth a look!

On the Stockcharts.com charts, the blue vertical lines are our proprietary system buy signals and the red vertical lines are system sell signals – for information purposes only

An interview with Josh, owner of Scottsdale Mint:

Please contact us to arrange the purchase and storage of your gold and silver requirements in a safe, insured location outside of your jurisdiction.

If you are interested in an overview of Fort Kobbe, you may want to have a look at this video: Mike Brown, Director, Fort Kobbe, International Vaults, A DotCom Magazine Exclusive Interview

This is my interpretation of the market and is not to be taken as financial advice. Before making any buy or sell decisions, I recommend that you consult with your professional financial advisor.