Jane Street, the Wall Street trading giant, made a dramatic pivot in its cryptocurrency portfolio during the first quarter of 2026, sharply reducing its Bitcoin ETF positions while piling into Ether funds and select crypto equities. The moves were detailed in a 13F filing released Tuesday, which revealed significant quarter-over-quarter drops in Bitcoin-related assets alongside a near-doubling of Ether ETF holdings.
The firm slashed its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by roughly 71%, leaving it with about 5.9 million shares valued at nearly $225 million as of March 31. Its position in the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) fell about 60% to approximately 2 million shares worth $115 million. Both cuts reversed the accumulation seen in late 2025, when Jane Street had built sizeable exposure to spot Bitcoin ETFs.
At the same time, the filing showed a buildup in Ether products. Holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust nearly doubled, and the Fidelity Ethereum Fund also saw substantial additions. Combined, the two Ether ETF positions increased by about $82 million in reported value. This shift coincides with separate disclosures from Wells Fargo that pointed to institutional buying of Ether ETFs early in the year.
Bitcoin-linked equities also faced the axe. Jane Street’s stake in Strategy (formerly MicroStrategy) plunged from 968,000 shares (worth $146 million) in Q4 2025 to just 210,000 shares ($27 million) last quarter—a drop of roughly 78%. The retreat came after the firm had boosted its Strategy position by 473% in the prior quarter. Additionally, mining stocks including IREN, Cipher Mining, TeraWulf, and Core Scientific were trimmed.
Not all crypto exposures shrank. Jane Street raised its holdings in Riot Platforms to 7.4 million shares (up from 5 million) valued at $91 million, increased its Coinbase stake to 888,000 shares, and made its largest increase in Galaxy Digital, where holdings surged from 17,000 shares to 1.5 million, lifting the position’s value from $380,000 to $28 million.
Jane Street’s rebalance coincides with a record $16.1 billion in trading revenue in Q1 2026, driven by volatile markets and AI-related investments, according to Reuters. The firm also remains entangled in legal battles related to the 2022 TerraUSD collapse, having asked a U.S. court in April to dismiss a lawsuit from Terraform Labs’ bankruptcy estate that accused it of insider trading. Jane Street denies the allegations.
