Jeff Park, the Head of Alpha Strategies at Bitwise Asset Management, issued a detailed analysis explaining why Bitcoin ($BTC) remains suppressed below the $150,000 price level.
Park identified a systemic issue within the exchange-traded fund (ETF) framework known as the “grey window,” which allows market makers and Authorized Participants (APs) to bypass spot market purchases.
This structural loophole enables institutional players to hedge their delta using futures contracts rather than purchasing the underlying digital asset, effectively decoupling ETF inflows from the natural price discovery process.
Everyone is asking: “Is Jane Street why Bitcoin isn’t at $150k?”
As expected, the answer is trickier than the question. But it’s also more structurally unsettling than the conspiracy theory itself—and once you understand the actual mechanics, you won’t be able to unsee them👇 pic.twitter.com/iLEeJpDeo4
— Jeff Park (@dgt10011) February 25, 2026
Market makers exploit ETF grey windows
According to Park, the current regulatory environment allows firms like Jane Street to utilize exemptions from specific Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) short-sale regulations.
During the “grey window,” the period between the close of the ETF trading session and the final settlement of the underlying asset, market makers can balance their books without immediately hitting the spot exchanges. This practice results in “conditional demand” rather than the “buy the dip” behaviour typical of retail investors, as institutions focus on rebalancing exposure rather than securing long-term holdings.
The Bitwise executive argued that these mechanisms have turned what should be a “tsunami” of institutional capital into a controlled flow that fails to trigger a supply shock. While US-listed spot Bitcoin ETFs saw inflows exceeding $257 million this week, the price has struggled to maintain momentum above psychological resistance levels. Park suggested that unless there are significant reforms to redemption mechanisms and AP incentives, Bitcoin’s true value may remain hidden behind these institutional hedges.
Institutional era shifts market cycles
This development aligns with previous DeFi Planet reporting on the maturing institutional landscape in 2026, which many analysts believe marks the end of the traditional “four-year cycle.” Grayscale Research recently noted that the integration of digital assets into traditional finance is shifting the market from speculative retail cycles to a “Dawn of the Institutional Era,” where macro demand for alternative stores of value outweighs crypto-specific news.
Despite the current price suppression, the long-term outlook remains optimistic as distribution expands. Major banks, including Morgan Stanley and Bank of America, have recently opened access to Bitcoin ETFs for their wealth management clients, a move that is expected to drive assets under management (AUM) toward $220 billion by the end of 2026.
Once these platforms finish their checks, the money from big investment and pension funds could eventually be enough to overcome the structural problems currently holding down Bitcoin’s price.
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