Welcome, dear reader, to the Daily Briefing, where we attempt to untangle the web of confusion that passes for crypto news today.
Grab a coffee, hide your charts, and brace yourselves. Something strange is happening in the crypto markets-like a teakettle that’s boiling over but hasn’t decided to whistle. Price swings, whispered accusations, and macroeconomic sighs are blending into a stew of uncertainty. Traders are now Googling “how to stop panicking” at 10:01 AM every day.
Crypto News of the Day: Rumors of Institutional “10 AM Dumps” Collide with Bearish Macro Warnings
Bitcoin’s recent antics are being interpreted through two lenses:
- Growing macroeconomic caution, as reported by someone with a clipboard in a suit who probably knows what he’s talking about.
- Rising speculation about institutional trading behavior-i.e., “they’re doing something shady, and we don’t know what it is.”
On the one hand, analysts say financial conditions are becoming less supportive of risk assets. On the other hand, others say large players might be actively causing short-term chaos. The result? A market driven by paranoia, not just graphs. It’s like a game of Clue, but the murder weapon is a sell order.
Macro Signals Suggest Risk Assets Face Pressure
Mike McGlone, macro strategist and self-proclaimed oracle of doom, warned that Bitcoin’s price behavior might reflect “structural risks.” He claims Bitcoin has reverted to a long-term mean of $66,000-despite historically clustering closer to $28,000. This is like saying your neighbor’s dog is back to its “normal” barking volume, even though it’s still howling at the moon.
McGlone also suggested declining crypto prices may be “front-running a reverse wealth effect.” In layman’s terms: falling prices might be a prelude to liquidity tightening and investors panicking. Such conditions have historically hurt speculative assets-cryptocurrencies, growth stocks, and people who buy NFTs of JPEGs.
Rumors of Coordinated Selling Gain Traction
Meanwhile, in crypto circles, there’s a new favorite rumor: certain institutions are allegedly dumping Bitcoin at 10 AM Eastern Time. According to Milk Road (a Twitter account that might or might not be run by a goldfish), these desks trigger selloffs, panic leveraged traders, and then buy the dip. It’s the financial equivalent of “robbing Peter to pay Paul,” except Peter is a meme coin and Paul is a very expensive yacht.
There have been persistent whispers in crypto circles about certain institutional trading desks running a very specific/shady playbook…
(Jane Street included.)
ICYMI: Jane Street just ranked as one of the top net buyers of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF ($IBIT) in Q4 2025.
Their…
– Milk Road (@MilkRoad) February 17, 2026
Traders claim these alleged dumps liquidate leveraged positions and exploit thin liquidity. While unverified, the pattern has been observed since late 2025, prompting market observers to ask, “Is this manipulation or just Monday?”
ETF Accumulation Raises Questions
Jane Street, the firm allegedly behind the 10 AM selloffs, has also become one of the largest buyers of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). Analysts cite figures suggesting they accumulated over 20 million shares by late 2025. It’s the crypto version of “I’m not a crook, I just like to sell my own snake oil at the same time I buy it.”
BREAKING: Jane Street bought 7,105,206 $IBIT shares worth $276 million in Q4 2025.
It now holds 20,315,780 IBIT shares worth $790 million.
This is the same entity rumoured to be behind the daily “10 AM” manipulation to push Bitcoin prices lower.
– Bull Theory (@BullTheoryio) February 17, 2026
If this is true, Jane Street is now a major Bitcoin holder. The debate rages: Are institutions here to save Bitcoin, or just to profit from its pain? It’s like asking if the pirates in the Caribbean were there to trade or to plunder. The answer is always plunder.
Chart of the Day
Byte-Sized Alpha
Crypto Equities Pre-Market Overview
| Company | Close As of February 17 | Pre-Market Overview |
| Strategy (MSTR) | $128.67 | $129.11 (+0.34%) |
| Coinbase (COIN) | $166.02 | $166.80 (+0.47%) |
| Galaxy Digital Holdings (GLXY) | $21.30 | $21.26 (-0.19%) |
| MARA Holdings (MARA) | $7.51 | $7.50 (-0.13%) |
| Riot Platforms (RIOT) | $14.65 | $15.29 (+4.37%) |
| Core Scientific (CORZ) | $17.23 | $17.20 (-0.17%) |
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2026-02-18 18:54