Is This Market Manipulation? Bitcoin's Mysterious 10 A.M. Dumps Linked to a Single Firm

Source: ETHNews Original Title: Is This Market Manipulation? Bitcoin’s Mysterious 10 A.M. Dumps Linked to a Single Firm Original Link: https://www.ethnews.com/is-this-market-manipulation-bitcoins-mysterious-10-a-m-dumps-linked-to-a-single-firm/ A curious pattern has been forming on the Bitcoin chart, and it is becoming too precise, too repetitive, and too aggressive to ignore. Once again yesterday, Bitcoin erased nearly 16 hours of gains in a single 20-minute cascade, perfectly aligned with the opening of U.S. markets at 10 a.m. EST.

This isn’t an isolated event. According to the information since the beginning of November, most intraday Bitcoin declines have arrived almost exactly at the moment Wall Street comes online. The chart highlights the latest example clearly: a sharp downward block of 15-minute candles, marking another synchronized sell-off right after the U.S. open.

A Pattern Worth Examining

Across Q2, Q3, and now into late 2025, the same rhythm keeps appearing, a clean vertical drop shortly after the opening bell, followed by a slow and steady recovery. That kind of timing is rarely random. Instead, it resembles the footprint of high-frequency execution where speed, liquidity access, and precision matter more than macro catalysts.

ZeroHedge has repeatedly called attention to this pattern and now points to Jane Street as the most probable driver behind these moves.

Why Jane Street Fits the Profile

Jane Street is one of the largest high-frequency trading firms in the world and has long been active in both traditional and digital markets. With the capability to push large volumes quickly and absorb liquidity pockets at scale, they have the infrastructure to create the exact kind of intraday pressure the market keeps observing.

According to the theory outlined, the behavior appears systematic:

• Sell Bitcoin into thin liquidity at the open.
• Drive the price down to predictable liquidity zones.
• Accumulate lower.
• Repeat.

If executed consistently, the strategy becomes a highly profitable daily cycle, and over time, it allows a firm to accumulate enormous exposure at discounted levels.

The IBIT Connection

What makes this speculation more convincing is Jane Street’s disclosed position: about $2.5 billion in BlackRock’s IBIT Bitcoin ETF, making it one of their top five holdings. For a firm running large arbitrage and market-making operations, pushing spot prices temporarily lower could improve ETF inventory costs and enhance execution efficiency.

In that context, the intraday dumps may have less to do with macro fear and more to do with sophisticated positioning by a dominant liquidity provider.

What Happens When Accumulation Ends?

If this theory is accurate and the repeated 10 a.m. sell-offs are part of an accumulation strategy, then the pressure isn’t a sign of weakening fundamentals, it’s a byproduct of one major entity reshaping intraday flows.

Eventually, this type of behavior reaches a point where the buyer has filled their desired allocation. Once the cycle ends, the artificial intraday drag may disappear, allowing Bitcoin’s underlying upward momentum to reassert itself without the daily sell-pressure.

For now, the chart keeps telling the same story: the 10 a.m. flush remains one of Bitcoin’s most consistent micro-patterns, and traders are finally starting to ask who benefits most from it.