Bitwise CIO Dismisses Manipulation Claims Behind Bitcoin Selloff

Highlights:

• The Bitcoin selloff is due to typical market cycles and external factors.
• Bitwise CIO dismisses manipulation rumors, calling it a “classic cycle.”
• Analyst Willy Woo sees Bitcoin’s bearish trend nearing exhaustion.

The recent Bitcoin selloff has triggered speculations of manipulation in the market. Large firms, such as Jane Street and Binance, have been identified by many in the crypto community as the possible culprits behind the decline. These claims are, however, refuted by the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of Bitwise, Matt Hougan. Rather, he explains the decline as a classic crypto winter cycle.

The Classic Cycle Behind the Bitcoin Selloff

Hougan stated that the major cause of the Bitcoin selloff is straightforward. A significant number of Bitcoin long-term investors have chosen to sell their positions. Others sold Bitcoin via spot transactions, while others unwound leveraged positions or employed covered call writing strategies. This mass selling has been accompanied by the normal fluctuations of the market cycle.

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.

The real reason bitcoin is down is that a…

— Matt Hougan (@Matt_Hougan) February 26, 2026

Hougan stresses that the volatility of Bitcoin prices is a natural phenomenon, which is associated with the four-year cycle of the market. Also, the pullback has been attributed to the concern of quantum computing and the emergence of AI projects. Apparently, investors are shifting investment out of crypto into AI projects.

Dismissing Market Manipulation Theories

Although others have accused certain companies of market manipulation, Hougan believes the theories have no basis. In his post, he explained, “The conspiracy theories are wild. He noted that market conspiracy theories tended to change, with different actors being accused as the story unfolded. It was initially Binance, and then Wintermute, and now Jane Street.”

The intention behind Hougan’s comments is to redirect the discussion on false accusations and a more logical explanation: the selloff is a part of the ordinary market cycle. According to him, the main reason is the exposure reduction by long-term holders based on the external and internal factors.

Bitcoin May Be Nearing Its Bottom

Although Hougan is still skeptical about the prospects in the long term, analyst Willy Woo believes that the worst may be over. Woo suggests that the ongoing selloff might be approaching exhaustion, and Bitcoin could enter sideways consolidation in the near future.

In his analysis, he also notes that the spot and futures liquidity are decreasing, which has added to the bearish trend. However, the perspective of Woo is not fully optimistic. He predicts that Bitcoin will keep trading between $60,000 and $70,000 soon. It could rebound later at the end of this year or early next year.

This bearish sell down by investors seems to have exhausted, which gives price a repreive to consolidate sideways for maybe a month, even a rebound to mid 70s, which would likely to be rejected.

This is because the broader regime is heavily bearish with both spot and futures… pic.twitter.com/MAUlmBJtbE

— Willy Woo (@willywoo) February 27, 2026

Woo also points out that Bitcoin’s price will potentially be supported around $45,000, and a significant drop would be around $30,000. In the worst-case scenario, Bitcoin would decline to $16,000 in case global macroeconomic conditions deteriorate. This would be a significant milestone in maintaining the long-term bullish trend of Bitcoin.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin has seen a sharp 3% drop today, with the price declining from $68K to $66K. This latest decline has elevated the monthly decline to over 26%. Furthermore, its market capitalization and 24-hour trading volume have dropped to $1.32 trillion and $43 billion.