Just as everyone was about to treat "10 o'clock sell-off" as a meme of the crypto market, this meme actually stopped.

On February 25, Bitcoin surged along with Ethereum and Solana. According to data from multiple platforms including HTX, Bitcoin briefly reached the $70,000 mark, Ethereum skyrocketed over 13%, and Solana also did not hold back, increasing by over 15%. This surge caused the total market capitalization of the entire crypto market to take off, adding about $170 billion, nearing $2.5 trillion.

The excitement from this rebound is due to it ending the awkward situation of constant decline that had persisted since the peak in October last year. However, if you think this is just a routine technical rebound, you might be missing out on a story behind it that is more exciting than a script.

1. Rumors: The Mysterious "10 O'clock Man"

● The story starts a few months ago. Around October 2025, many observant crypto market commentators and traders noticed a strange phenomenon: every day at 10 AM Eastern Time, the Bitcoin market would experience a wave of concentrated sell-offs as if set by an alarm clock.

● The amount of these sell-offs was considerable, rumored to be between $160 million and over $300 million. It was as if there was an unseen big player whose only purpose for setting their alarm was to: crash the market. This mysterious force persisted for several months, making the market feel uneasy. Retail investors would get anxious at 10 AM, long traders would tremble, while short traders would watch their computer screens waiting to take advantage.

● The crypto community gave this force various nicknames, with some directly calling it the "10 o'clock man". Everyone was guessing who it was, but it remained a mystery. On-chain analyst Nonzee even commented on social media: "For months, 10 AM only meant one thing: someone is selling."

2. A Lawsuit Cuts Off the "10 O'clock Alarm"

Until February 24, when a lawsuit was filed in the Manhattan Federal Court, the story suddenly took an interesting turn.

● The lawsuit was filed by none other than the bankruptcy liquidation administrator of Terraform Labs, which caused $40 billion in wealth evaporation, triggered the "crypto winter," and indirectly led to the collapse of FTX. The defendant was the top quantitative trading firm on Wall Street—Jane Street.

● According to the lawsuit seen by Bloomberg, the liquidation administrator Todd Snyder accused Jane Street of engaging in "front-running trading" using non-public information obtained from insiders at Terraform Labs during the 2022 Terra crash.

○ The lawsuit describes a particularly explosive detail: on May 7, 2022, Terraform Labs quietly withdrew 150 million TerraUSD (UST) from a Curve liquidity pool, without making the process public to the market. Less than 10 minutes later, Jane Street sold 85 million UST from the same pool, directly accelerating the de-pegging and crash of UST.

● Ironically, after crashing the market, Jane Street even tried to reach out to Do Kwon, hoping to buy Bitcoin or Luna tokens at a very high discount. Once this news broke, the crypto community exploded. On the very next day after the lawsuit news spread—February 25 at 10 AM Eastern Time, the "alarm" that had been ringing punctually for months, did not ring for the first time.

● Crypto commentator Bark excitedly wrote on X: "Jane Street had been running an algorithm that sold Bitcoin at 10 AM every day. It happened every day for months, causing prices to drop, forcing retail investors to liquidate, and then buying back at lower prices. Once they were sued, this activity stopped, and the 10 AM sell-off disappeared. Now Bitcoin has seen its best single-day performance in months."

3. Truth and Speculation: Is it "Voluntary Suspension" or "Forced Pause"?

● Of course, this matter is still only "rumor" plus "official lawsuit," and there is no public evidence to firmly establish that Jane Street is indeed the "financier" behind the daily 10 AM sell-off. After all, as a top quantitative institution, if they really had such a regular, trackable selling algorithm, that would be rather "foolish." Even crypto KOL Wise Advice expressed doubt about this.

● Senior ETF analyst Eric Balchunas from Bloomberg commented aptly: "The big bad is gone. This is the vibe on Crypto Twitter and the current price trend." Everyone is betting that the "sword of Damocles" that has been hanging over their heads for months has been removed.

● From a technical perspective, some traders pointed out that the market liquidity at the time was already in an "extremely thin" state. With President Trump about to deliver the State of the Union address, many sell orders were preemptively removed, amplifying price volatility. Nevertheless, the expectation of "reduced potential selling pressure" indeed injected a strong boost into the long-suppressed market.

4. Jane Street's Response and the Bigger Chess Game

● In response to this series of accusations, a spokesperson for Jane Street strongly stated that these claims are "baseless and speculative claims," and that the company will firmly refute them. They emphasized that the losses of Terra and Luna holders are entirely the result of the fraudulent actions of Terraform's management.

● It is worth noting that this game is not just targeting Jane Street. Just two months ago, Terraform's liquidation administrator also filed a similar lawsuit against another Wall Street giant—Jump Trading, accusing it of profiting billions of dollars during the Terra collapse. It seems that the liquidators are determined to investigate who took advantage during the "massacre" back then.

5. The Return of Market Confidence

● As of the time of writing, Bitcoin may not have stabilized above $70,000, but the large bullish candle that emerged due to the "10 o'clock curse" being lifted has already left a deep impression on traders' minds. In the past 24 hours, over $200 million in short positions were liquidated across the network, and those who once firmly believed in "must fall at 10 AM" and shorted the market became the largest fuel for this rebound.

● Regardless, this story serves as a reminder to all market participants: In this news-driven crypto world, sometimes a lawsuit brings not just legal consequences but could also mean a "forced shutdown" of a quantitative algorithm that has been running for months.

● The alarm that had been ringing punctually every day at 10 AM was, at least on this day, cut off by a lawsuit. Whether this is a permanent peace or the calm before the storm, we will wait and see.

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