Bitcoin Rockets Past $68K as Crypto Market Adds $170B

The global cryptocurrency market staged a strong comeback on Wednesday, adding more than $170 billion in a single session.

Data from CoinGecko showed total market capitalization climbing roughly 8% to nearly $2.5 trillion, one of the strongest single-day advances in recent weeks. The move interrupted a steady decline that had weighed on digital assets since October.

Key Points

• The global crypto market surged $170 billion in one day, lifting total capitalization to ~$2.5 trillion.
• Bitcoin led the rebound, climbing over 5% to around $68,443 after slipping below $65,000.
• The rally came after news of a lawsuit against Jane Street over trades linked to the 2022 Terra-Luna collapse.
• Traders observed potential shifts in Bitcoin’s intraday 10 a.m. selling pattern following the legal announcement.

Bitcoin and Major Tokens Record Broad Gains

Bitcoin led the recovery, rising more than 5% to trade near $68,443. Notably, the rebound came just a day after Bitcoin had slipped below $65,000, only to reverse course. The crypto market has been in a major downturn since Bitcoin hit a record above $120,000 in October.

With the ongoing relief, gains quickly spread across the broader market. Ethereum advanced about 10% to $2,067, reflecting renewed risk appetite among large-cap tokens.

Meanwhile, other leading assets followed suit. XRP gained 7% to $1.45, while BNB rose 6.2% to $628.78. Solana added 8% to reach $87.75. In addition, Cardano posted one of the strongest advances, jumping 12% to $0.2952.

Even meme-focused tokens joined the rally. Dogecoin increased 9% to $0.10, and Shiba Inu edged up 4.5% to $0.00000619. Together, these moves underscored the broad-based nature of the recovery.

Lawsuit Against Jane Street Draws Attention

While price action dominated headlines, the underlying catalyst may have come from legal developments. Earlier this week, Jane Street became the target of a lawsuit brought by the administrator managing the liquidation of Terraform Labs.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the lawsuit alleges that the trading firm leveraged confidential information obtained from insiders at Terraform. Specifically, the filing claims that these trades were placed in advance of events that significantly affected the market, related to the downfall of Do Kwon’s Terra-Luna ecosystem.

The 2022 collapse of Terra-Luna is widely regarded as a landmark event in the cryptocurrency space, triggering a lengthy market downturn and shaking investor confidence. Consequently, any legal developments tied to this episode are closely watched by market participants.

Debate Over the 10 A.M. Selling Pattern

As news of the lawsuit circulated, attention shifted back to a long-debated intraday trading pattern. For months, some market participants have claimed that Bitcoin frequently faced concentrated selling pressure around 10 a.m. Eastern Time.

For instance, a crypto commentator known as Bark argued on X that Jane Street runs an automated strategy that consistently sells Bitcoin at that hour every day. The commentator suggested the pattern ceased immediately after the lawsuit became public.

Onchain analyst Nonzee echoed that view. In particular, the researcher noted that Bitcoin moved sharply higher during the same time window following the legal news.

However, there is no publicly documented proof that Jane Street consistently sold Bitcoin at a specific time each day. Despite this, social media discussions intensified as prices rallied.

For months, 10 AM meant one thing: the Jane Street dump.

Yesterday, they got hit with an insider trading lawsuit.

Today at 10 AM? Bitcoin rips higher instead.

Coincidence, or did the game just change? pic.twitter.com/W5t3i7Ubla

— Nonzee (@0xNonceSense) February 25, 2026

Adding to the debate, Eric Balchunas, senior ETF analyst at Bloomberg, weighed in on X. He observed that the market appeared to be reacting as though a perceived source of selling pressure had disappeared. Meanwhile, he cautions that it remains unclear whether the shift is sufficient to sustain a recovery.

For now, the longer-term trajectory of digital assets remains unresolved. Still, Wednesday’s surge stands out as a meaningful inflection point after weeks of sustained downside pressure.