On Thursday, February 12, 2026, the silver market is undergoing a “violent revaluation” that some veteran traders are calling Squeeze 2.0.
Spot silver is currently trading around $83.67 per ounce, staging a aggressive recovery after a massive “flash crash” in early February that saw prices plunge from a late-January all-time high of $121.88 to a low of $75. The current momentum is being driven by a historic disconnect between “paper” silver (futures contracts) and the actual physical metal available for delivery.
The 1980 Parallel: Hunt Brothers Vibes
The comparison to the 1980 Hunt Brothers rally isn’t just hyperbole; it’s backed by unprecedented delivery data at the COMEX and Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE).
The Physical Drain: COMEX warehouse inventory has reportedly fallen by 75% since 2020, dropping to just 82 million ounces.
The “Paper” Gap: Open interest for the March 2026 contract implies a delivery requirement of over 425 million ounces—nearly five times the available physical supply.
The “Pharos” Demand: Industrial demand for silver in 2026 has exploded due to the AI Data Center boom and massive solar energy expansion, creating a structural supply deficit of roughly 820 million ounces.
The $200 Target: Fact or Fiction?
While the $200 per ounce target was once considered “fringe,” major financial institutions and high-profile investors are now debating it as a legitimate possibility in a “delivery failure” scenario.
