I think all the points you brought up are valid and may be part or all of what's going on.. The point I made may apply to Vert only at this point.. Some MM's are aggresive and they may have sold way to much when the surge hit..
at 8:24 the bid and ask were being shuffled like a deck of cards. Looks like they are wanting to drop both to start off. Bid moved from .54 to .52 and ask from .55 to .535