For months, at exactly 10 o’clock, Bitcoin has been falling, now Jane Street is reeling

It was the same tune every morning. At exactly 10:00 a.m. New York time, Bitcoin was plunging. It was as if a giant faucet had opened above the marketplace. Small traders saw their positions liquidated while some big players enjoyed themselves. A highway for insiders, carefully paved. It took months. Until suddenly everything stopped. And then the crypto market rejoiced like a pardoned prisoner.

Bitcoin’s strange metronome in New York time

First, there’s this observation that has driven more than one crazy in the trading world. For months, Bitcoin has been subject to systematic selling pressure every day at 10:00 AM ET. The opening of US stock markets coincided with this strange routine. BlockNews summed up the general frustration with X:

BTC crashed within the first hour after the US market opened for several months. The liquidation caused the trigger and ended the assembly.

Traders theorized, suspected, blamed. One firm kept popping up in the discussions: Jane Street, the high-frequency trading giant with $650 billion under management. His central role in ETFs and market making made him the ideal culprit in the eyes of the crowd.

However, no concrete evidence has emerged to support these allegations. The 10 AM window is objectively a moment of intense liquidity where flows from ETFs, CME futures and institutional rebalancing are naturally concentrated.

But the almost daily repetition of the phenomenon cast doubt on all purely technical explanations.

The Terra trial that rocked the giant Jane Street

The twist came on February 23, 2026. Todd Snyder, the administrator responsible for disposing of the remains of Terraform Labs, filed an explosive lawsuit against Jane Street. The allegation is serious: insider trading during the May 2022 collapse of the Terra stablecoin.

“Jane Street abused its relationships to manipulate the market during one of the most significant events in cryptocurrency history“Snyder said, as quoted by the Wall Street Journal. The factual elements are troubling.

May 7, 2022 Terraform drawing 150 million UST from the Curve fund. Ten minutes later the wallet formally linked to Jane Street with Drew 85 million. Cherry on top: ex-Terra employee Bryce Pratt was working at Jane Street at the time and kept in touch with his former colleagues.

Chronology weighs heavily, though Jane Street vehemently denies it. The firm calls the lawsuit “opportunistic” and throws the ball back at Do Kwon, who was sentenced to 15 years in prison for a “multibillion-dollar fraud.”

Opinion on cryptocurrencies mainly preserves timing more than legal nuances.

200 billion later: the electroshock of the cryptosphere

On February 25, the day after the court announcement, 10 o’clock comes. Traders hold their collective breath. And then, general astonishment: the planned sale does not take place. Instead, Bitcoin takes off like a rocket and briefly touches $70,000. Ethereum jumps 13%, Solana 15%. The total capitalization of the crypto market makes 200 billion dollars in just two days.

On X, the euphoria is indescribable. Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas dropped a line we’ll remember:

The terrible man disappeared. That’s the feeling on Crypto Twitter today.

With staggering numbers, Bull Theory adds: “Since Jane Street was being sued, the 10 a.m. manipulation ended. It’s INSANE. Bitcoin adds 120 billion“.

For thousands of investors, “proof of absences” has become the only truth that counts.

The numbers fueling the manipulation theory

• 85 million: amount of UST withdrawn by Jane Street in 2022, ten minutes after Terraform;
• February 23, 2026: date of filing of lawsuit against the commercial giant;
• 200 billion: capitalization added to the crypto market since the listing was stopped;
• 15 years: prison sentence for Terra founder Do Kwon;
• $68,383: the price of BTC at the time of writing.

Real manipulation or perfect coincidence? It’s hard to make a definitive decision. One thing is certain: the cryptosphere also appreciates more natural rises, ones that owe nothing to conspiracy theories. Just yesterday, Bitcoin climbed a few points thanks to $258 million freshly poured into US ETFs. Sometimes a simple tide will do more good than all the rumors in the world.

DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY

The views, thoughts and opinions expressed in this article are solely those of the author and should not be taken as investment advice. Before making any investment decision, do your own research.