Bitcoin’s latest decline has reignited claims of market manipulation, with many pointing fingers at major firms like Jane Street. But Bitwise’s Matt Hougan posits that the reality is less dramatic, asserting that the Bitcoin selloff reflects the “classic cycle.”
Bitwise CIO Dismisses Bitcoin Manipulation Claims
In an X post by Bitwise CIO Matt Hougan, he explained the real reasons behind the prevailing Bitcoin bearish trend. He dismissed the allegation of market manipulation and attributed the Bitcoin selloff to the natural ups and downs of the market cycle. He noted,
“The real reason bitcoin is down is that a bunch of people who were long Bitcoin sold their Bitcoin exposure. They sold it via spot, they sold it by unwinding leveraged positions, and they sold it be writing calls against their bitcoin. They sold because of the four year cycle and because of quantum fears and because they wanted to invest in AI start ups and for other reasons.”
According to the Bitwise CIO, the real reason for the Bitcoin price drop is simple. It is mainly because of withdrawals from long-term holders, stated Hougan. He stated that many holders have been selling their spot BTC, closing leveraged positions, and using strategies like covered calls.
In addition, he posited that three drivers were behind the crypto fall. These include the typical four-year crypto market cycle, growing concerns of quantum computing, and the rising influence of AI startups. As per his statement, investors are moving capital from crypto to AI companies.
Market Conspiracy Narratives Intensify
Significantly, the Bitwise CIO’s statement comes amid rising rumors and allegations about possible market manipulations. Recently, the crypto community claimed that large players, including Binance and Jane Street, may be orchestrating coordinated selloffs or recurring intraday “dump” patterns.
Industry experts like Cathie Wood stated that the Bitcoin price drop was largely driven by a major deleveraging event linked to a software glitch on Binance on October 10, 2025. According to her, the incident triggered roughly $28 billion in leverage to be wiped out. She believes that this, in turn, weighed heavily on Bitcoin’s market performance.
Another major conspiracy theory linked to Bitcoin is Jane Street’s alleged “10 AM Bitcoin dump.” The cryptocurrency usually faces increased pressure around this time. Thus, experts like Eric Balchunas alleged that Jane Street was behind the BTC pressure.
However, Matt Hougan dismissed these conspiracy theories, stating,
“The conspiracy theories are wild. First it was Binance and then it was Wintermute and then it was an unknown offshore macro hedge fund and then it was paper bitcoin and. today it is Jane Street and next week it will be someone else.”
Amid these ongoing debates, market experts are expecting another major Bitcoin price crash. As CoinGape reported earlier today, Willy Woo projected a possible bear market, with the price expected to slip to a low of $45k.