Jane Street Faces Insider-Trading Lawsuit as Bitcoin's '10 a.m. Sell-Off' Appears to Ease, Sparking Rally

Terraform Labs built TerraUSD (UST) as an algorithmic stablecoin designed to hold a $1 peg through an arbitrage mechanism with sister token Luna. The system entered a death spiral in May 2022, erasing about $40 billion in market value and deepening a crypto-industry liquidity crisis. The bankruptcy estate’s lawsuit matters because it seeks to assign part of the responsibility to a major Wall Street trading firm and potentially recover funds for creditors.

Plan Administrator Todd Snyder sued Jane Street on Feb. 23, 2026, in Manhattan federal court. An unsealed complaint in May alleged the firm used a private Telegram channel to obtain nonpublic information, sold $192 million of UST before the collapse and made about $134 million from bearish trades. The filing says a Jane Street-linked wallet removed 85 million UST from Curve’s 3pool on May 7, 2022, shortly after Terraform withdrew 150 million UST. Jane Street denies wrongdoing and asked the court on April 23 to dismiss the claims.

Terraform Labs created TerraUSD, or UST, as an algorithmic stablecoin designed to hold a $1 peg through its relationship with the LUNA token. The system unraveled in May 2022, erasing about $40 billion in market value and helping trigger a broader crypto-industry contagion. Terraform’s wind-down trust is now pursuing trading firms it alleges exploited privileged access before the collapse, seeking recoveries for creditors and crypto-loss claimants.

Plan administrator Todd Snyder sued Jane Street in Manhattan federal court on Feb. 23, 2026. Newly unsealed filings allege the firm obtained confidential information through a private Telegram group called “Bryce’s Secret” and sold its entire $192 million UST position on May 7, 2022, hours before the stablecoin lost its peg. Jane Street has moved to dismiss the case, arguing Terraform is trying to shift responsibility for its own fraud; the allegations have not been proven in court.

Jane Street is a U.S. quantitative trading firm and ETF market maker that provides liquidity for spot Bitcoin ETFs. Its algorithms have drawn scrutiny over concentrated selling pressure around 10 a.m. during U.S. trading. Analysis suggests, however, that ETF creation, redemption and hedging mechanisms may constrain price discovery, making the firm a focal point of allegations that it triggers a "10 a.m. sell-off."

The latest reports say there is currently no public evidence that Jane Street manipulated Bitcoin and that the controversy is more likely rooted in ETF market structure. The firm is also facing a lawsuit alleging insider trading involving Terraform Labs. Available information does not disclose the filing date, the amount at issue or the specific trading period, and the allegations remain subject to judicial proceedings.

Jane Street is an authorized participant for BlackRock's spot Bitcoin ETF, IBIT, handling share creation and redemption while helping keep its price aligned with net asset value. Terraform Labs administrator Todd Snyder filed a lawsuit on February 23, 2026, alleging that the firm engaged in insider trading before TerraUSD collapsed in May 2022, prompting concerns about potential ETF manipulation.

On February 26, 2026, analysts rejected claims of routine selling at 10 a.m. Eastern Time. Alex Krüger calculated that IBIT had posted a cumulative return of 0.9% between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. since January 1, although its return during the first 15 minutes was negative 1%. Jane Street reported holding about $790 million of IBIT as of the fourth quarter of 2025, but that does not represent its actual net position or prove that it manipulated the market.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs use authorized participants, or APs, to create and redeem shares, helping keep fund prices close to net asset value. Jane Street, JPMorgan and Citadel Securities all serve in that role. APs can settle in kind and hedge with futures, meaning buying demand may not immediately reach the spot market. Opening-hour volatility therefore affects price discovery but does not by itself amount to manipulation.

On February 23, 2026, the Terraform Labs bankruptcy administrator sued Jane Street, alleging it used inside information to avoid more than $200 million in losses before Terra’s 2022 collapse. Bitcoin rose more than 6% on February 25 and approached $70,000, temporarily ending the 10 a.m. declines. However, Alex Krüger calculated that IBIT had gained a cumulative 0.9% between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m. since January 1, moving in tandem with the Nasdaq and showing no evidence of systematic manipulation.

TerraUSD (UST) was designed to maintain its $1 peg through an algorithm and LUNA, but it lost the peg in May 2022, wiping out about $40 billion in Terra ecosystem assets. Terraform Labs' liquidator now alleges that Jane Street used internal liquidity information to trade ahead of the market, bringing one of the crypto industry's biggest collapses back into the judicial spotlight.

Liquidator Todd Snyder filed suit in federal court in New York on Feb. 23, 2026, alleging that Jane Street withdrew another 85 million UST within 10 minutes of learning that Terraform planned to remove 150 million UST from Curve. After the lawsuit became public, market speculation spread that selling pressure at 10 a.m. U.S. Eastern time had disappeared. Bitcoin rebounded about 10%, from roughly $62,000 to nearly $70,000, but the manipulation claims have not been substantiated.

The TerraLuna ecosystem collapsed in May 2022, inflicting heavy losses on the cryptocurrency market. Terraform Labs has now sued quantitative trading firm Jane Street, while claims are circulating that its algorithms were involved in coordinated selling. The claims remain allegations and have yet to be resolved through legal proceedings.

A recent report said Bitcoin had rebounded above $66,000 but did not specify when the price move occurred. The rally came amid rumors that Jane Street used trading algorithms to push prices lower, shifting attention to whether its trading was linked to the TerraLuna collapse in May 2022 and how the lawsuit will unfold.