Unpacking the "10 AM Slam": Is Jane Street Manipulating Bitcoin's Price?
A new wave of Bitcoin market manipulation rumors is sweeping through the crypto community, centered around investment giant Jane Street. The chatter intensified following disclosures that Jane Street significantly increased its holdings of BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) in Q4 2025, now reportedly controlling 20,315,780 shares. Speculators are linking this substantial position to an enduring, unverified theory about a coordinated daily "10 AM" sell-off designed to influence Bitcoin's price.
Jane Street and the "10 AM Slam" Theory
The core of the allegation suggests that a sophisticated trading desk, identified as Jane Street, employs a calculated strategy: accumulating IBIT shares while simultaneously exerting downward pressure on Bitcoin and related assets at a predictable time each morning. This alleged "10 AM" routine, particularly around the US stock market open, involves large sell volumes hitting BTC and ETF shares. The resulting panic is believed to trigger liquidations of leveraged long positions and exploit thin liquidity, enabling the same firms to buy back at lower prices. This pattern reportedly emerged in early November 2025 and has persisted into 2026, though proponents like Milk Road emphasize these remain "unverified rumors circulating in the community."
Market Makers: Inventory Isn’t a Directional Bet
However, this viral narrative has met strong opposition from market structure veterans, who argue it misinterprets the role of a market maker. Experts like Louis LaValle, CEO of Frontier Investments, clarify that Jane Street, as a lead market maker and Authorized Participant for IBIT, is not "holding" these shares as a directional bet. Instead, their large holdings represent inventory necessary to manage record volatility and meet creation/redemption demands, often balanced by "delta-hedged" derivative positions that are not fully disclosed in 13F filings. Former hedge fund manager Michael Green and prop trader Ryan Scott echoed this sentiment, stressing that such holdings are operational, designed to balance risk, and do not indicate a "longing" or manipulative stance on Bitcoin's price. They assert that misunderstanding these mechanics leads to "painful" and "capital offense" interpretations. Ultimately, the market-maker explanation aligns more closely with typical financial operations, rendering the "10 AM slam" narrative a circulating theory rather than a substantiated claim at this stage. At press time, BTC traded at $68,107.
