February 10, 2026
This analysis examines the correlation between social media sentiment, discussion volume, and price movements during this market event, in which signals and sentiment data was made available to clients via a stream on an ICE Feed.
Reddit user mentions and ICE sentiment score for SLV ETF
ICE sentiment score and price of SLV ETF
Source: ICE Data Services
ICE sentiment data captures positive and negative sentiment pertaining to investable securities within user-generated content on Reddit. Sentiment is expressed as a score of between -1 and 1, where -1 represents extremely negative sentiment among Reddit users, while 1 represents extremely positive sentiment.
Reddit user mentions and ICE sentiment score for GLD ETF
ICE sentiment score and price of GLD ETF
Source: ICE Data Services
Both gold and silver experienced sharp sentiment deterioration in late January 2026. Silver sentiment plunged from approximately +0.01 to -0.08 (see Figure 1), while gold sentiment declined from the +0.02-0.03 range to -0.02 to -0.03 (see Figure 2). This represents a substantial shift from moderately positive to notably negative territory within investing-focused subreddits.
The sharp sentiment reversal accompanied meaningful price corrections in both metals:
The sentiment data suggests Reddit discussions may have preceded the most severe price declines. The sentiment deterioration appears to have begun (around January 27) before prices reached their highs (on January 31), indicating that negative shifts in retail investor psychology may have been an early warning signal of the impending sell-off.
This pattern suggests that social media sentiment may have functioned as an important indicator in this instance, capturing growing pessimism and concern within the retail community before the full magnitude of the price declines materialized.
The data illustrates the potential value of social media sentiment analysis as a complement to traditional technical and fundamental analysis. The early deterioration in sentiment, followed by surging Reddit discussion volume during the price crash, provides a multi-dimensional view of retail investor psychology during market stress.
The extreme negative sentiment combined with high discussion volume could potentially signal a sentiment extreme, though price action and fundamental factors should remain the primary considerations for investment decisions.
1. Financial Times: Silver’s runaway rally becomes ‘death trap’ for Reddit’s retail crowd, February 3, 2026 Reuters: Slump in commodities rattles global markets, February 2, 2026 CNN: It’s been a weird few days on Wall Street, February 2, 2026
2. SPDR Gold Trust, six-month performance
3. iShares Silver Trust, six-month performance
4. https://think.ing.com/articles/a-gold-and-silver-reset-not-a-reversal/
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