Allegations that the Wall Street trading firm, Jane Street, causes a daily 'dump' of Bitcoin at 10 AM resurfaced today (12), after BTC recorded a sharp intraday drop.
Speculation on social media once again pointed to institutional traders and market makers of ETFs. A more detailed analysis of the data, however, reveals a more complex scenario.
What is the 'Jane Street 10 AM' narrative?
The theory suggests that Bitcoin often experiences liquidations around 9:30–10 AM ET, when U.S. stock markets open. Jane Street is often cited for being a major market maker and authorized participant for U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The claim asserts that these companies push prices down to trigger liquidations and then buy back the asset at a lower value. However, no regulator, exchange, or data source has ever confirmed such coordinated activity.
BREAKING: The 10am manipulation is back.
Bitcoin dropped $2,000 in 35 minutes and wiped out $40 billion from its market cap.
$132 million worth of longs have been liquidated in the past 60 minutes.
This is getting ridiculous. https://t.co/0DRTFfL08r pic.twitter.com/RByT4CWF65
— Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) December 12, 2025
Bitcoin futures data do not show aggressive dumping.
Bitcoin traded sideways today during the opening of the U.S. market, staying within a narrow range near $92,000–$93,000. There was no sudden or unusual liquidation exactly at 10am ET.
The sharp decline occurred later in the session, around noon in U.S. time. BTC briefly fell below $90,000 before stabilizing, suggesting late pressure rather than a movement driven by market opening.
Open interest in Bitcoin futures on major exchanges remained largely stable. The total open interest stayed nearly stable for the day, indicating that there was no significant buildup of new short positions.
At CME, the most relevant platform for institutional trading, open interest has modestly decreased. This pattern generally reflects a reduction of risk or hedging, not an aggressive directional sale.
If a large proprietary trading firm were conducting a coordinated dump, a sharp spike or collapse in open interest would typically appear. This did not happen.
Liquidations explain the movement.
Liquidation data provide a clearer explanation. In the past 24 hours, total liquidations in the crypto market exceeded $430 million, with long positions making up the majority.
Only Bitcoin recorded more than $68 million in liquidations, while those of Ethereum were even larger. This indicates a cleansing of leverage across the market, not a specific asset event.
When prices drop below key levels, forced liquidations can accelerate declines. This often creates sharp pullbacks without the need for a single dominant seller.
U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded an outflow of $77 million on December 11, after two days of consistent capital inflow. Today's brief price shock was largely reflected in this movement.
No single location led the liquidation.
The movement was distributed across several exchanges, including Binance, CME, OKX, and Bybit. There was no evidence of concentrated selling pressure on a single platform or instrument.
This is important because coordinated manipulation often leaves traces. This event showed broad participation across the market, consistent with automated risk reduction.
Why does Jane Street's narrative keep coming back?
Bitcoin's volatility often centers around U.S. market hours, due to ETF trading, macroeconomic data releases, and institutional portfolio adjustments. These structural factors can make price movements appear to follow a pattern.
Jane Street Bots already entered Polymarket xD
While most traders chase narratives, one Polymarket account turned 15-minute crypto prediction windows into a mechanical profit engine.
Trader didn't build a sophisticated arbitrage bot.
He found something simpler, momentum lag on… pic.twitter.com/KHUJog4u6C
— gemchanger (@gemchange_ltd) December 12, 2025
Jane Street's visibility in ETF market making makes it an easy target for speculation. But this activity involves hedging and inventory management, not targeted price attacks.
Today's movement fits a familiar pattern in crypto markets. Leverage increases, the price falls, liquidations occur in cascade, and narratives emerge afterward.
Did the Jane Street article bring down the price of Bitcoin at 10am today? It was first seen in BeInCrypto Brazil.
