Crypto Market Surges: Was Wall Street’s “Invisible Hand” Finally Lifted?

The cryptocurrency market experienced a dramatic “revenge rally” yesterday, with its total market capitalization surging by over $170 billion in a single day. Speculation is rife that this powerful upswing is not merely a technical rebound, but rather the abrupt withdrawal of an “invisible selling pressure” that had long suppressed the market.

Analysts suggest that the recent insider trading lawsuit involving Wall Street quantitative trading giant Jane Street may have inadvertently triggered this shift. The company’s automated trading program, allegedly responsible for consistent daily selling at fixed times, is believed to have been forced offline or paused. The sudden disappearance of this persistent selling pressure, which had weighed on the market for months, is now being credited with igniting this long-awaited, vigorous rebound.

Market Awakens: Bitcoin, Ethereum, Solana Lead the Charge

According to CoinGecko data, the global cryptocurrency market cap soared by approximately 8% in 24 hours, pushing close to the $2.5 trillion mark. Bitcoin briefly climbed above $69,000, Ethereum (ETH) surged by over 13%, and Solana (SOL) led with gains exceeding 15%, signaling a palpable warming of market sentiment.

This robust rally notably coincided with the apparent breaking of a long-standing “crypto curse”: the massive selling waves that almost invariably appeared at 10 AM ET (11 PM Taipei time) each day abruptly ceased following the insider trading allegations against Jane Street.

The Alleged “10 AM Dump” and Its Sudden Halt

Prominent crypto commentator Bark highlighted this phenomenon on social media platform X, stating: “Jane Street has been precisely dumping every day at 10 AM via algorithms for the past few months.”

Day after day, relentlessly suppressing coin prices, triggering forced liquidations for retail investors, and then buying back at lows. But after they were indicted, this behavior stopped. The ’10 AM dump’ phenomenon disappeared, and Bitcoin experienced its best day in months.

On-chain data analyst Nonzee echoed this sentiment, observing: “For months, 10 AM only meant one thing: Jane Street was going to dump. Yesterday, they were sued for insider trading; this morning at 10 AM? Bitcoin not only didn’t fall but soared straight up.”

While there is currently no public, substantive evidence directly linking Jane Street to systematic daily selling, the timing of this market rebound, immediately following the lawsuit news, has sparked intense debate and speculation across the crypto community.

Jane Street Embroiled in Insider Trading Lawsuit

The lawsuit, which has captivated the crypto world, was officially filed earlier this week by the bankruptcy liquidators of Terraform Labs. As reported by The Wall Street Journal, the complaint alleges that Jane Street utilized non-public information obtained from within Terraform Labs to engage in insider trading and profit before the market’s collapse.

The 2022 Terra-Luna “death spiral” tragedy is widely considered a pivotal event that triggered a prolonged cryptocurrency winter. More recently, Bitcoin experienced a significant decline after reaching substantial peaks last year, even briefly dipping below $65,000, before this week’s noticeable rebound.

The “Bogeyman” Is Gone, But For How Long?

Commenting on this newfound market optimism, Bloomberg Senior ETF Analyst Eric Balchunas aptly described the atmosphere on X: “The bogeyman is gone. This is the sentiment conveyed by the crypto community and today’s price action.”

However, Balchunas also posed a crucial, forward-looking question:

Is the absence of this selling pressure enough to bring a long-term rebound? I think we will know the answer soon.