Bitcoin and Ether price update

Bitcoin (BTC) was priced at US$103,902, a 3.3 percent increase in 24 hours and its highest valuation of the day. Bitcoin’s lowest valuation on Wednesday was US$102,377.

Bitcoin price performance, November 5, 2025.

Chart via TradingView.

Both Bitcoin and Ether (ETH) are showing signs of recovery after a volatile start to the week. Current price action is driven by derivatives liquidations, options settlement dynamics and sustained retail and institutional fear.

Ether ended the trading day at US$3,448.04, an increase of 7.5 percent over the last 24 hours. Its lowest valuation of the day was US$3,326.02. Like Bitcoin, Ether is attempting a rebound near a significant technical and psychological level, but uncertainty remains elevated. The Fear and Greed Index remains in “extreme fear” at 20, reflecting persistent nervousness after long-term holders and whales triggered mass liquidations.

“Market data and technical signals suggest Bitcoin may trade within a US$94,000–US$118,000 range in the near term. The lower bound represents a healthy retracement zone consistent with subdued ETF inflows, while the upper range reflects a measured recovery below the October high near US$125K. Ethereum is likely to move between US$3,000 and US$4,400, supported by Layer-2 expansion and renewed DeFi participation,’ she said via email.

“Overall, the market appears to be stabilizing in a more disciplined, data-driven manner, signaling that confidence is returning through structural resilience and steady capital reallocation.”

Meanwhile, Galaxy’s head of research, Alex Thorn, said that the investment company has lowered its 2025 Bitcoin price forecast from US$185,000 to US$120,000.

Altcoin price update

• Solana (SOL) was priced at US$162.69, up by 6.6 percent over the last 24 hours and at its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest was US$157.65.

• XRP was trading for US$2.37, up by 9.7 percent over the last 24 hours to its highest valuation of the day. Its lowest was US$2.25.

Crypto derivatives and market indicators

Over the past four hours, Bitcoin has seen liquidations totaling US$16.11 million, mostly in short positions, suggesting a short-covering rally and improving near-term sentiment. Futures open interest is fractionally down 0.15 percent to US$70.17 billion, indicating a minor position reduction after aggressive selling earlier in the week.

The funding rate is neutral at 0.001, signaling balanced sentiment between longs and shorts, while implied volatility remains elevated at 45.9 percent, pointing to continued market uncertainty.

Max pain for options expiry sits at US$104,000, a level that the Bitcoin price is approaching.

Meanwhile, US$27.84 million in Ether options positions, also primarily shorts, have been liquidated in the past four hours, contributing to the uptrend as risk reversals shift. Ether has seen a 1.51 percent increase in open interest to US$40.3 billion, and its funding rate is slightly negative at -0.001, strengthening the bullish undertone.

Bitcoin dominance stands at 57.21 percent.

Today’s crypto news to know

Ripple secures US$500 million boost at US$40 billion valuation

Ripple has raised US$500 million in a new funding round led by Fortress Investment Group and Citadel Securities, valuing the company at US$40 billion. The investment follows Ripple’s US$1 billion tender offer earlier this year at the same valuation, marking a continuation of investor confidence in the firm’s long-term outlook.

Ripple said the funds will strengthen its partnerships with financial institutions and expand its services across custody, stablecoin issuance and crypto treasury management. The company’s RLUSD stablecoin has gained traction for corporate payments amid clearer US regulations under the GENIUS Act. The funding also positions Ripple to deepen its role in global payments as more firms integrate stablecoins into settlement networks.

Canada announces plans to introduce stablecoin legislation

The Canadian government announced as part of its 2025 budget that it plans to introduce legislation regulating fiat-backed stablecoins. The legislation aims to provide a secure, stable framework encouraging the development of Canadian-dollar pegged stablecoins, modernizing payment systems and fostering digital innovation.

The new rules will require stablecoin issuers to maintain sufficient asset reserves to back their digital currencies, safeguard consumer interests and comply with national security standards to protect personal data.

The Bank of Canada will receive C$10 million over two years starting in the 2026 to 2027 period to oversee the new framework, with ongoing costs expected to be covered by stablecoin issuers.

Northern Data exits Bitcoin mining in US$200 million AI transition

Northern Data Group, Europe’s largest Bitcoin-mining company, is divesting its mining arm, Peak Mining, in a deal worth up to US$200 million as it pivots entirely toward artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure. The transaction includes US$50 million in upfront cash and up to US$150 million in performance-based payments tied to future profits.

The move follows the Bitcoin halving this past April, which cut mining revenues in half and accelerated the firm’s strategic shift. The company plans to repurpose its mining facilities in Texas for high-performance AI workloads, which can yield up to 10 times more revenue per megawatt than Bitcoin mining.

The company already owns over 220,000 GPUs through prior acquisitions.

Balancer protocol suffers major exploit

The Balancer DeFi protocol suffered a major exploit on Tuesday (November 3), losing about US$128 million in assets from its V2 Composable Stable Pools due to a precision rounding error and access control flaws in its smart contracts.

According to a report released after the attack, the infiltrator manipulated swap calculations and batch swaps to drain liquidity across multiple blockchains, including Ether, Polygon, Arbitrum and others.

Balancer promptly paused affected pools, confirmed no impact on V3 or other versions, and is collaborating with forensic and security experts to trace and recover funds. So far, US$19.3 million worth of StakeWise osETH has been recovered. Balancer has offered a white hat bounty for full asset return within 48 hours and continues investigating.

What factors impacted potash in Q3?

Linville said potash news was quiet during the quarter, pointing to stable prices and a well-supplied market.

In July, BHP (ASX:BHP,NYSE:BHP,LSE:BHP) announced it was delaying the opening of its Jansen mine in Saskatchewan. It was initially slated to start production in 2026, but has instead moved its timeline back to 2027 and is also considering pushing the second phase to 2031, citing cost overruns that have ballooned to US$7 billion.

Although potash has so far escaped US tariffs, Linville noted some concern following Ontario’s anti-tariff ad, which ran in the US during the World Series. “We continue to hope/believe that potash will be left alone as part of the North America Trade agreement. Assuming potash is left alone, markets should continue as normal; however, if we start seeing barriers to entry, US farmers will likely bear the brunt of most/all of those tariffs,” he said

Potash and phosphate price forecast for 2025

While potash markets remain stable, phosphate markets are much more dynamic.

Unless there is a significant shift in China’s exports, supply should remain tight. In his most recent weekly update on November 5, Linville noted that the situation could become dire for US consumers before the end of the year.

“We continue to advise our people that if they decide they need phosphate after all, do not wait to lock it up. Days very well may matter. Heck, hours might matter. Supplies are tight and can ill-afford a sudden demand jump,” he wrote.

Additionally, markets are likely to become further strained in the years to come as limited supply meets increased demand from outside the agricultural sector.

1. Consolidated Lithium Metals (TSXV:CLM)

Year-to-date gain: 500 percent
Market cap: C$23.36 million
Share price: C$0.060

Consolidated Lithium Metals is a Canadian junior exploration company focused on acquiring, developing and advancing lithium projects in Québec. Its properties — Vallée, Baillargé, Preissac-LaCorne and Duval — are located within the spodumene-rich La Corne Batholith area, near the restarted North American Lithium mine, a key area in Canada’s growing lithium sector.

Consolidated Lithium started the year with a C$300 million private placement earmarked for working capital and general corporate purposes.

In July, the company commenced its 2025 summer exploration program at the Preissac project, excavating a 100-by-30-meter trench in an area with a known lithium soil anomaly, uncovering an 18-meter-wide pegmatite body at surface.

Twenty-five channel samples were collected and sent for analysis, while additional soil and biogeochemical sampling was conducted to further assess lithium-bearing pegmatites on site.

At the end of August, Consolidated Lithium signed a non-binding letter of intent with SOQUEM, a subsidiary of Investissement Québec, to acquire an option to earn up to an 80 percent interest in the Kwyjibo rare earth project.

The project is located roughly 125 kilometers northeast of Sept-Îles in Québec’s Côte-Nord region.

The acquisition news led to a share price spike for the company. While the company has made no recent announcements, an uptick in lithium prices in October helped Consolidated shares rally further to a year-to-date high of C$0.06 on October 22 and again on October 28.

2. Stria Lithium (TSXV:SRA)

Year-to-date gain: 416.67 percent
Market cap: C$12.22 million
Share price: C$0.31

Stria Lithium is a Canadian exploration company focused on developing domestic lithium resources to support the growing demand for electric vehicles and lithium-ion batteries.

The company’s flagship Central Pontax lithium project spans 36 square kilometers in Québec’s Eeyou Istchee James Bay region.

Cygnus Metals (TSXV:CYG) has an earn-in agreement with Stria to earn up to a 70 percent interest in the Pontax project. Cygnus completed the first stage in July 2023, acquiring a 51 percent interest by investing C$4 million in exploration and issuing over 9 million shares to Stria.

Through its joint venture with Cygnus, Stria has outlined a JORC-compliant maiden inferred resource of 10.1 million metric tons grading 1.04 percent Li2O.

At the start of 2025 Stria closed a non-brokered private placement for C$650,000. The funds will be used in part for the evaluation of new mineral opportunities, according to the company.

In May, Stria and Cygnus agreed to extend the second stage of Cygnus’s earn-in agreement on the Pontax lithium project by 24 months.

Shares of Stria registered a year-to-date high of C$0.38 on October 16, coinciding with rising lithium prices.

3. Lithium South Development (TSXV:LIS)

Year-to-date gain: 280 percent
Market cap: C$42.79 million
Share price: C$0.38

Canada-based Lithium South Development owns 100 percent of the HMN lithium project in Argentina’s Salta and Catamarca provinces, situated in the heart of the lithium-rich Hombre Muerto Salar. The project lies adjacent to active lithium operations, including Rio Tinto’s (ASX:RIO,NYSE:RIO,LSE:RIO) lithium operations to the south and South Korean company POSCO Holdings’ (NYSE:PKX,KRX:005490) billion-dollar lithium development to the east.

Exploration has defined a NI 43-101 compliant resource of 1.58 million metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent (LCE) at an average grade of 736 milligrams per liter lithium, with the majority in the measured category.

A preliminary economic assessment outlines the potential for a 15,600 metric ton per year lithium carbonate operation, and the company is advancing the project toward a feasibility study.

In January 2024, Lithium South and POSCO signed an agreement to jointly develop the HMN lithium project. Under the deal, the companies will share production 50/50 from the Norma Edith and Viamonte blocks in Salta and Catamarca, resolving overlapping claims.

As for 2025, at the end of July, Lithium South received a non-binding cash offer of US$62 million from POSCO for HMN and all of Lithium South’s other concessions in the Hombre Muerto Salar.

The offer is subject to a 60 day due diligence period and a subsequent 60 day negotiation and execution phase for a definitive agreement, the company said. As of late September, the due diligence has largely been completed and the companies are negotiating the definitive agreement.

Company shares surged to C$0.41 in early August following the news. Shares rose to a year-to-date high of C$0.415 on October 24, likely in conjunction with lithium price positivity.

4. Standard Lithium (TSXV:SLI)

Year-to-date gain: 152.83 percent
Market cap: C$1.28 billion
Share price: C$5.36

Standard Lithium is a US-focused lithium development company advancing a portfolio of high-grade lithium-brine projects with an emphasis on sustainability and commercial-scale production.

The company employs a fully integrated direct lithium extraction process and is developing its flagship Smackover Formation assets in Arkansas and Texas, including the South West Arkansas project in partnership with Equinor ASA, under the joint venture subsidiary Smackover Lithium.

Standard is also actively exploring additional lithium brine opportunities in East Texas.

In April, the South West Arkansas project was one of 10 US critical minerals projects designated for fast-tracking under FAST-41.

According to Standard’s Q2 2025 results released in August, Smackover Lithium reported strong progress on its South West Arkansas project during the quarter.

Exploration for the project’s Phase 1 operations concluded, and the Lester exploration well yielded the highest lithium brine grades to date, averaging 582 milligrams per liter and peaking at 616 milligrams per liter. Key regulatory milestones included the Arkansas Oil and Gas Commission approving a 2.5 percent royalty rate and granting brine production unit approval for Phase 1.

Additionally, through a partnership with Telescope Innovations the company advanced a new process to convert lithium hydroxide into battery-grade lithium sulfide.

In September, Standard Lithium reported results of its definitive feasibility study (DFS) for the South West Arkansas project with a targeted first production date in 2028.

The DFS notes an initial capacity of 22,500 metric tons per year of battery-grade lithium carbonate. The study outlines a 20-year-plus operating life based on average lithium concentrations of 481 milligrams per liter, supported by detailed resource and reserve modeling.

The company officially filed the DFS on October 14, leading to a share price bump and year-to-date high of C$7.65 on October 16.

5. United Lithium (CSE:ULTH)

Year-to-date gains: 94.12 percent
Market cap: C$15.75 million
Share price: C$0.33

Exploration and development company United Lithium owns a portfolio of global assets in Sweden, Finland and the United States. The company’s primary focus is the Bergby lithium project in Central Sweden.

In March, United Lithium reported positive results from mineralogical test work on four pegmatite samples — B, C, D and E — at the Bergby project. The study analyzed the chemical and mineralogical composition of the samples to better understand the lithium-bearing LCT (lithium, cesium, tantalum) pegmatites.

An October 17 announcement from United reported it entered a binding letter of intent to acquire all issued and outstanding shares of Swedish Minerals. If the deal goes through, it will create a Nordic-based company with lithium, uranium and rare earth projects.

Under the agreement, United Lithium will issue Swedish Minerals shareholders 25 million common shares of United at C$0.20 each and pay C$450,000 in cash, subject to regulatory approval.

Shares of United Lithium spiked following the acquisition news and continued upward to a year-to-date high of C$0.35 on October 27.