Claims that the Wall Street player Jane Street triggers a daily Bitcoin “dump” at 10 AM resurfaced on December 12, following a sharp intraday drop for BTC.
Speculation on social media again drew attention to institutional traders and ETF market players. However, a closer look at the data provides a more nuanced picture.
What is the “Jane Street 10 a.m.” narrative?
The theory suggests that Bitcoin is often sold around 9:30–10:00 AM Eastern Time when the US stock market opens. Jane Street is often mentioned because it is a central market player and an approved participant for US spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The claim asserts that such actors push prices down to trigger liquidations, only to buy back cheaper. No regulatory authority, exchange, or data source has ever confirmed such coordinated activity.
Bitcoin futures data does not show aggressive sell-offs
Bitcoin traded sideways through the opening of the US market, remaining within a narrow range near $92,000–$93,000. There was no sudden or abnormal drop precisely at 10:00 AM Eastern Time.
The sharp decline came later in the day, closer to midday US time. BTC dipped just below $90,000 before stabilizing, suggesting a delayed pressure rather than a fall driven by the market opening.
Bitcoin futures open interest on the largest exchanges remained nearly stable. Overall open interest was virtually unchanged throughout the day, suggesting that large new short positions were not built up.
At CME, the primary venue for institutional trading, open interest declined slightly. This pattern usually indicates risk reduction or hedging, not aggressive directional selling.
If a larger proprietary firm had orchestrated a coordinated dump, one would typically expect a significant increase or collapse in open interest. That did not happen.
Liquidations explain the rise
Liquidation data provides a clearer explanation. In the last 24 hours, total crypto liquidations exceeded $430 million, with long positions accounting for most of it.
Bitcoin alone had over $68 million in liquidations, while Ethereum liquidations were even higher. This suggests a general leverage cleansing in the market, not an event specific to Bitcoin.
When prices fall below key levels, forced liquidations can exacerbate the decline. This often leads to sharp drops without a single dominant seller.
Most notably, US spot Bitcoin ETFs showed a net outflow of $77 million on December 11, after two days of steady inflow. Today's short-term price drop was largely reflected in this movement.
The movement was spread across several exchanges, including Binance, CME, OKX, and Bybit. There were no signs of selling pressure concentrated on a single trading venue or instrument.
This is important because coordinated manipulation usually leaves traces. This event involved broad participation across the market, in line with automated risk entrapment.
Why the Jane Street story keeps coming back
Bitcoin volatility often clusters around US market hours due to ETF trading, macroeconomic news, and institutional portfolio adjustments. These structural factors can make price movements appear patterned.
Jane Street's visibility as a market participant in the ETF market makes them an easy target for speculation. But market making is about hedging and inventory management, not forcing the price in a particular direction.
Today's movement follows a familiar pattern in the cryptocurrency markets. Leverage builds up, prices fall, liquidations are triggered, and the narratives follow.
