Did Morgan Stanley Really Stand Behind the Bitcoin Crash in October?

The cryptocurrency market is stirring up amid new allegations involving Morgan Stanley and MSCI – two globally influential financial organizations. According to the Bull Theory analysis group, the sequence of events from the Bitcoin crash in October to the strong recovery at the beginning of 2026 may not be coincidental but rather a pre-arranged scenario. Bitcoin Market Manipulation Concerns In a post on X platform, Bull Theory analysts suggest that Bitcoin price movements from late 2025 to early 2026 exhibit all the characteristics of an organized “price suppression – accumulation – pump” campaign. The sequence of events began on October 10, 2025, when MSCI – a company formerly part of Morgan Stanley – proposed removing large digital asset holding companies (Digital Asset Treasury Companies – DATCOs) from global indices. These companies include prominent names like Strategy and Metaplanet – enterprises holding massive Bitcoin reserves on their balance sheets. This is particularly serious because MSCI’s indices are used as benchmarks for trillions of USD in passive investments from pension funds, ETFs, and major financial institutions. If companies holding significant Bitcoin are removed from the index, funds are forced to sell, leading to: A large-scale divestment waveMarket liquidity being squeezedBitcoin selling pressure skyrocketing As a result, shortly after the announcement, Bitcoin plummeted nearly $18,000, and the total crypto market cap evaporated over $900 billion. “Psychological Freeze” Lasts 3 Months Following MSCI’s announcement, the market entered a prolonged state of instability lasting three months, during which the policy consultation period was open until December 31, 2025. During this time: Institutional investors nearly froze buying activityIndex funds faced the risk of forced sellingInvestment demand sharply declined As a result, Bitcoin dropped about 31% in Q4/2025, and altcoins suffered even heavier losses, marking the worst quarter for the crypto market since 2018. Unexpected Turn at the Beginning of 2026 On January 1, 2026, Bitcoin suddenly reversed sharply, rising over 8% in just 5 days, from around $87,500 to $94,800 – an increase of more than $7,300. Notably: Months-long selling pressure suddenly disappearedLiquidity returned very quicklyNo major positive news was announced at that time According to Bull Theory, this rally could indicate that some organizations “knew in advance” about an upcoming event. And just a few days later, on January 5–6, 2026, Morgan Stanley unexpectedly announced plans to launch spot ETFs for Bitcoin, Ethereum, and Solana. Shortly after, MSCI also declared it would not proceed with removing crypto companies from the global index. A Carefully Calculated Scenario? From Bull Theory’s perspective, this sequence of events forms a perfect loop: October 2025: MSCI announces removing DATCO from the index → market panic, Bitcoin crashesNext 3 months: Sentiment is suppressed, prices are restrained, organizations quietly accumulateIn early January 2026: Bitcoin unexpectedly reboundsImmediately afterward: Morgan Stanley announces ETFs, MSCI withdraws the proposal If this scenario is accurate, the market has been intentionally manipulated to enable large organizations to accumulate Bitcoin at low prices before reopening the floodgates for institutional capital via ETFs. Who Benefits? When the market returns to high liquidity: Spot ETFs will attract new capitalIndex funds continue holding crypto company stocksBitcoin resumes a long-term upward trend The organizations that bought during the crisis will be the biggest beneficiaries. At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading around $91,550, down slightly 2% from the recent peak of $95,000 over the past two months, but the medium-term bullish structure remains intact. Conclusion Although there is no legal evidence that Morgan Stanley or MSCI are truly manipulating the market, the suspiciously coinciding sequence of events is raising many questions within the crypto community. If Bull Theory’s allegations are correct, this could be one of the most sophisticated price regulation campaigns in crypto history – where the rules are not only written by the market but also by the “invisible hands” behind the scenes.