Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$69,837.08, down by 1.1 percent over 24 hours.

Bitcoin price performance, February 9, 2026.

Chart via TradingView

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,049.31, down by 3.5 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.41, down by 3.5 over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$84.50, down by 3.9 percent over 24 hours.

Today’s crypto news to know

Tether deepens gold push with US$150M stake in Gold.com

Tether has made a US$150 million investment in Gold.com, acquiring roughly a 12 pecent minority stake as it moves to broaden access to both tokenized and physical gold.

The deal sets up a long-term partnership that will integrate Tether’s gold-backed token, XAU₮, into Gold.com’s platform and explore ways for customers to buy physical gold using digital currencies such as USDT and the newly launched, federally regulated USA₮.

The move comes as gold prices push above US$5,000 an ounce, reinforcing demand for hard-asset exposure amid geopolitical and macroeconomic uncertainty. Tether said the gold-backed stablecoin market has nearly tripled over the past year to more than US$5.5 billion, with XAU₮ accounting for over 60 percent of total market value.

The company says XAU₮ is backed 1:1 by allocated physical gold, with about 140 tons in total held in secure vaults and each token linked to a specific London Good Delivery bar.

Bitcoin breaks below US$70,000 as liquidations accelerate

Bitcoin fell sharply this week, breaking below the closely watched US$70,000 level and trading as low as roughly US$60,300 before stabilizing near US$65,000

The US$70,000 mark had become a crowded positioning zone, and once it failed, mechanically driven selling took over.

In addition, the Crypto Fear & Greed Index dropped to 9, its lowest reading in nearly four years, while futures open interest slid toward multi-month lows, signaling defensive positioning rather than dip-buying. “

South Korea tightens scrutiny after Bithumb’s distribution error

South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service has moved to strengthen oversight of crypto exchanges following a major error at Bithumb that briefly flooded user accounts with billions of dollars’ worth of bitcoin.

The incident occurred when customers were mistakenly credited with roughly 2,000 BTC each instead of small promotional rewards, triggering panic selling and a sharp price dislocation on the exchange.

Bitcoin prices on Bithumb fell as much as 30 percent below global levels before trading and withdrawals were halted.

Authorities said the episode exposed “vulnerabilities and risks” in virtual asset systems and raised concerns about internal controls and reserve backing. “It is a case that shows the structural problems of electronic systems for virtual assets,” said Lee Chan-jin, governor of South Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service.

Regulators plan to introduce tougher penalties for IT failures and expand monitoring tools that flag suspicious trading patterns in real time.

Of the more than 620,000 bitcoins mistakenly distributed, authorities said nearly all have since been recovered.

FDIC settles FOIA fight over crypto ‘pause letters’

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) has agreed to pay US$188,440 in legal fees and drop its effort to withhold crypto-related “pause letters,” settling a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit tied to alleged debanking practices.

The case stemmed from a records request filed by History Associates on behalf of Coinbase, seeking documents that showed how banks were allegedly pressured to halt or limit crypto activities.

A federal court ruled last year that the FDIC violated FOIA by categorically withholding the letters rather than reviewing them individually.

“We successfully uncovered dozens of crypto ‘pause letters’—indisputable proof of OCP2.0,” Coinbase chief legal officer Paul Grewal wrote on X after the settlement.

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$70,178.66, up by 11.3 percent over 24 hours.

Bitcoin price performance, February 6, 2026.

Chart via TradingView.

Bitcoin has stopped behaving as an alternative safe-haven asset and has re-aligned with the risk-asset cycle. Its high correlation with traditional financial markets, including a broad sell-off in technology stocks, precious metals, and equities, suggests a scenario of systemic stress and scarce liquidity.

Downward pressure intensified after breaking key technical levels, causing nearly US$770 million in leveraged long positions to be liquidated in 24 hours, suggesting the market’s ‘cleansing phase’ is ongoing. The decline was exacerbated by a strong dollar and rising bond yields, which reduced the appeal of non-yielding assets like cryptocurrencies, prompting a rotation into defensive assets.

In the short term, price action will be limited and vulnerable to renewed selling pressure as long as restrictive financial conditions and a defensive tone prevail in global markets. Stabilization requires an improvement in global financial conditions and Bitcoin’s ability to rebuild solid technical support.

Ether (ETH) was priced at US$2,052.03, up by 10 percent over the last 24 hours.

Altcoin price update

• XRP (XRP) was priced at US$1.46, up by 25.2 over 24 hours.

• Solana (SOL) was trading at US$87.37, up by 10.4 percent over 24 hours.

The problem: Legacy friction

Traditional banking still depends on millions of costly, slow and error-prone messages as institutions attempt to reconcile fragmented records across systems.

Repurchase agreement (repo) trades highlight the problem. Moving cash and collateral typically requires multiple intermediaries, manual checks and settlement delays that can stretch for days.

Public blockchains such as Ethereum offer speed, but their full transparency creates a different obstacle, exposing sensitive transaction data that banks cannot legally or competitively disclose.

At the heart of the issue is a structural trade off. Banks need shared networks to scale efficiency, yet legacy infrastructure and open ledgers force a choice between operating in isolation or revealing too much information. The result has been a patchwork of private systems that protect data sovereignty, but sacrifice interoperability and efficiency.

Explaining how Canton’s technology removes that trade off, Rooz said:

“Banks built walled gardens because there was no way to share infrastructure without giving up control or privacy. What we’re seeing now is a gradual shift away from isolated systems toward shared rails where institutions retain sovereignty over their data, while still achieving interoperability.

‘That doesn’t mean internal systems disappear overnight, but it does mean the center of gravity shifts toward networks where counterparties can transact in real time.”

Canton’s solution: Privacy-enabled synchronization

Canton has created a shared ledger where institutions maintain private blockchains, yet synchronize seamlessly.

“I think critics misunderstand what financial institutions actually need,” Rooz explained. “Banks don’t want a system where everything is hidden, and they don’t want one where everything is public. They need a way to work together on shared processes, while keeping sensitive details private. That’s what Canton was designed for.”

In practice, JPMorgan keeps its ledger sovereign, while plugging into LSEG for atomic delivery-versus-payment (DvP) settlements, all without revealing private data. Sub-transaction privacy ensures only trade participants see details; to others, it’s invisible. This network of networks lets banks achieve interoperability without sacrificing control.

“(This) gives institutions a shared record they can trust, with configurable privacy at the protocol level to divulge transactional information only with involved parties. And because it’s built to connect different applications, firms can link markets and workflows together without sacrificing confidentiality,’ said Rooz.

“This combination is something traditional systems cannot offer and is why you’re seeing institutions move from pilots into production onchain,’ the expert added.

Live momentum: JPM Coin and tokenized repos

JPM Coin’s native integration is a strong signal that the market is maturing.

JPMorgan’s blockchain rail, with over US$1 trillion in processed volume, has fueled settlements across Canton’s ecosystem. Paired with LSEG’s tokenized deposits, which power live repo activity, there are now synchronized markets where DvP happens in seconds, not days.

Rooz highlighted the deeper impact, commenting, “Everyone notices the speed, but the collateral mobility is the substance beyond the headline. In legacy markets, collateral spends most of its life idle because moving it safely across systems requires messaging, reconciliation and time. Atomic settlement collapses those steps into a single transaction.’

He added, ‘When repos settle in seconds, collateral stops being static and becomes reusable. That improves liquidity, balance sheet efficiency and risk management.”

2026 outlook

JPM Coin and LSEG repos demonstrate Canton’s shift from pilots to production.

“We measure success by utilization,” said Rooz, adding, “Having Canton be the network where real transactions are taking place, and regulated assets are moving.’

He envisions steady expansion powering this transformation. Indeed, similar efforts are already live elsewhere, such as BlackRock’s BUIDL fund, which has tokenized US$1.7 billion in treasuries for 24/7 yields, and DRW Cumberland’s weekend repos, which use tokenized collateral with instant DvP settlements.

“I’d like to see more asset classes brought on to Canton, and the corresponding transaction volume we’re already seeing will continue to grow in the year ahead,’ said Rooz.

He sees this convergence accelerating across markets.

“Our ‘North Star’ is to drive the convergence of TradFi and DeFi onchain to create a new AllFi reality,’ he said.

Markets and commodities react

Canadian equity markets were mixed this week.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index (INDEXTSI:OSPTX) gained 1 percent over the week to close Friday at 32,470.98, while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index (INDEXTSI:JX) shed 5.38 percent to 1,015.34. The CSE Composite Index (CSE:CSECOMP) dropped 1.22 percent to 167.56.

The gold price gained 4.84 percent to close at US$4,951.69 per ounce on Friday at 4:00 p.m. EST. The silver price didn’t fare as well, closing the week down 1.78 percent at US$77.32 on Friday.

In base metals, the Comex copper price recorded a 0.85 percent rise this week to US$5.93.

On the other hand, the S&P Goldman Sachs Commodities Index (INDEXSP:SPGSCI) was down 3.7 percent to end Friday at 587.55.

Top Canadian mining stocks this week

How did mining stocks perform against this backdrop?

Take a look at this week’s five best-performing Canadian mining stocks below.

Stocks data for this article was retrieved at 4:00 p.m. EST on Friday using TradingView’s stock screener. Only companies trading on the TSX, TSXV and CSE with market caps greater than C$10 million are included. Mineral companies within the non-energy minerals, energy minerals, process industry and producer manufacturing sectors were considered.

1. Giant Mining (CSE:BFG)

Weekly gain: 69.57 percent
Market cap: C$27.51 million
Share price: C$0.39

Giant Mining is an exploration company working to advance its Majuba Hill District copper, silver and gold project north of Reno in Nevada, US.

The site consists of 403 federal lode mining claims and four private property parcels that cover an area of 3,919 hectares. Mining at the property took place between 1900 and 1950, resulting in the production of 2.8 million pounds of copper, 184,000 ounces of silver and 5,800 ounces of gold.

Extensive exploration work has been carried out at Majuba Hill, with 89,930 feet being drilled since 2007.

The most recent news from Giant came on January 30, when it reported that it planned to drill up to 10,000 feet in a multi-phase drill program at Majuba Hill, targeting three breccia zones.

Following the first phase of 5,000 feet of drilling, the program will include underground and surface sampling to support follow-up drill targeting for the remaining holes.

2. CGX Energy (TSXV:OYL)

Weekly gain: 64.71 percent
Market cap: C$66.02 million
Share price: C$0.28

CGX Energy is an oil and gas exploration company with 27.48 percent ownership of a portfolio of wells in the Corentyne block off the coast of Guyana. Frontera Energy (TSX:FEC) is the company’s joint venture partner in the Corentyne block and also holds 76.05 percent interest in CGX.

The Kawa-1 exploration well was drilled in 2021 and 2022 and encountered an active hydrocarbon system extending to a depth of 6,000 feet, mirroring trends in the Guyana-Suriname Basin. CGX’s Wei-1 well was drilled in late 2022 and is located on-trend between the Kawa-1 well and Exxon’s (NYSE:XOM) Pluma discovery.

CGX and Frontera are currently in a legal dispute with the government of Guyana, which believes the petroleum prospecting license for Corentyne expired in 2024, a stance the joint venture disagrees with. The most recent update on the matter mentioned plans to meet and discuss the situation, with potential dates in November or December of last year.

Shares in CGX posted gains this week, but the company has not released news since November 13, when it announced its third-quarter financial statements. However, Frontera announced on January 30 that it divested its producing Colombian assets while retaining its interests in Guyana, news that may signal that the Corentyne block permitting situation could still be resolved.

3. Saba Energy (TSXV:SABA)

Weekly gain: 61.11 percent
Market cap: C$12.07 million
Share price: C$0.29

Saba Energy is an oil and gas exploration company with operations in British Columbia, Canada, as well as the Philippines.

The company’s primary Canadian operations consist of the producing Boundary Lake and Laprise oil and gas fields, which have a net present value of C$43 million as of its September quarterly report.

The most recent news from Saba came on January 27, when it announced a heads-of-agreement with Nido Petroleum for a farm-in arrangement on a pair of offshore assets in the Philippines.

Saba will earn 60 percent of Service Contract 54 (SC54). SC54 covers an area of 550 square kilometers to depths of 50 to 110 meters and hosts three discovery wells and one production well, which previously produced 270,000 barrels at 19,000 barrels per day before it was closed due to water encroachment.

The company will also earn a 52.73 percent share in the DPPSC Cadlao, which covers an area of 914 square kilometers to depths of 93 meters. The site has 6.8 million barrels in reserves and produced 11.1 million barrels between 1982 and 1992.

If the transaction is completed, Saba will become the operator of both assets. The company plans to open a US$7.5 million convertible debenture private placement to achieve the requirement of raising US$7 million by mid-April.

4. Copper Giant Resources (TSXV:CGNT)

Weekly gain: 60.66 percent
Market cap: C$157.77 million
Share price: C$0.98

Copper Giant Resources is an exploration company advancing its Mocoa copper-molybdenum project in Southern Colombia. It changed its name from Libero Copper and Gold last year.

The property covers 1,324 square kilometers and hosts a copper porphyry system originally discovered in 1973.

A November 2025 mineral resource estimate significantly increased its resource. Mocoa now holds an inferred resource of 7.6 billion pounds of copper and 1 billion pounds of molybdenum, at 0.31 percent copper and 0.039 percent molybdenum, from 1.12 billion metric tons of ore. The upgrade made the project South America’s largest undeveloped molybdenum deposit.

The most recent news from Copper Giant came on January 29, when it reported results from the first drill hole at the La Estrella target. While assays returned low-grade mineralization, the company noted that the significance was geological, as it confirmed continuity of the porphyry system beyond the established deposit.

The release also reported results from a second hole at the southern edge of the Mocoa footprint, which the company said were stronger than previously interpreted at the southern margin of the deposits. Grades in the hole were 0.13 percent copper and 0.01 percent molybdenum over 804 meters starting from surface, which included an intersection of 0.44 percent copper and 0.05 percent molybdenum over 33 meters.

5. Benz Mining (TSXV:BZ)

Weekly gain: 50.46 percent
Market cap: C$749.9 million
Share price: C$3.25

Benz Mining is a gold exploration company that is focused on advancing projects in Québec, Canada, as well as Western Australia.

Its Eastmain project consists of an 8,000 hectare property located in Central Québec within the Upper Eastmain Greenstone belt. The most recent resource estimate from May 2023 reported an indicated resource of 384,000 ounces of gold from 1.3 metric tons of ore grading 9 g/t gold, and an inferred resource of 621,000 ounces of gold from 3.8 metric tons grading 5.1 g/t.

In 2025, Benz acquired the Glenburgh and Mount Egerton gold projects in Western Australia from Spartan Resources (ASX:SPR). It spent much of 2025 exploring Glenburgh, which covers an area of 786 square kilometers and features 50 kilometers of strike. The site hosts six priority extension targets and 5 kilometers of exploration trend with over 100 parts per billion gold.

A November 2024 resource estimate for Glenburgh showed an indicated and inferred resource of 510,000 ounces of gold from 16.3 million metric tons of ore with an average grade of 1 g/t gold.

On January 28, the company announced a shallow, high-grade discovery at the Glenburgh project’s Icon trend. Assays returned grades including 29 g/t gold over 13 meters starting at a depth of 60 meters. Additionally, results showed wide mineralization as well, including 200 meters grading 1 g/t gold starting at 76 meters.

The most recent news from Benz came the next day, when it announced it received firm commitments for a AU$75 million bought deal placement, which it said was led by strong demand from two global institutional fund. The company said the investment increases its pro forma cash position to AU$94 million, which will be allocated across its portfolio, particularly focused on the Glenburgh project.

FAQs for Canadian mining stocks

How much does it cost to list on the TSXV?

There are a variety of different fees that companies must pay to list on the TSXV, and according to the exchange, they can vary based on the transaction’s nature and complexity. The listing fee alone will most likely cost between C$10,000 to C$70,000. Accounting and auditing fees could rack up between C$25,000 and C$100,000, while legal fees are expected to be over C$75,000 and an underwriters’ commission may hit up to 12 percent.

The exchange lists a handful of other fees and expenses companies can expect, including but not limited to security commission and transfer agency fees, investor relations costs and director and officer liability insurance.

These are all just for the initial listing, of course. There are ongoing expenses once companies are trading, such as sustaining fees and additional listing fees, plus the costs associated with filing regular reports.

How do you trade on the TSXV?

Investors can trade on the TSXV the way they would trade stocks on any exchange. This means they can use a stock broker or an individual investment account to buy and sell shares of TSXV-listed companies during the exchange’s trading hours.