Is Wall Street Running Bitcoin and Crypto Markets Now?

Bitcoin continues to trade every hour of every day, but its price moves are acting more like traditional stocks. A recent study covering data from 2016 through 2025 shows that price swings are now heavily concentrated during the nine hours when Wall Street is active. While these hours account for less than 40 percent of a full day, they now generate over half of Bitcoin’s daily price variance.

Researchers confirmed this trend by looking at how markets react to Daylight Saving Time. Because New York shifts its clocks while the rest of the world remains on fixed schedules, the change allowed analysts to track whether volatility followed the US time zone. The findings were clear. Bitcoin’s peak volatility shifts alongside the American trading calendar, and volatility drops significantly when the New York Stock Exchange takes a holiday.

This trend is not limited to Bitcoin. Assets like Ethereum, Solana, and XRP are all seeing similar shifts, with price action becoming much quieter during weekends compared to the early years of crypto. The data points to a broader institutionalization of the market, where firms and professional traders operate largely during traditional business hours.

Interestingly, the data suggests this shift started long before the launch of spot ETFs in 2024. Statistical analysis points to late 2021 as the major turning point for the market. This means the change is likely driven by the overall growth of professional trading desks and regulated futures rather than any single new financial product.