Q1 Wall Street institutions' holdings reveal: Jane Street's Bitcoin ETF position plummeted by 71%, JPMorgan increased holdings by as much as 174%

Author: Zhou, ChainCatcher

May 15th is the statutory deadline for U.S. SEC to require institutional investors to submit Q1 13F forms. As the filings are gradually made public, major Wall Street institutions’ crypto holdings are spotlighted.

Among them, JPMorgan counterintuitively increased Bitcoin ETF holdings by 174%, Jane Street cut IBIT by 71% and shifted towards Ethereum, Wells Fargo added to Ethereum ETFs against the trend, and BlackRock’s on-chain portfolio market value shrank by over $20 billion but continued buying Bitcoin.

In the first quarter of this year, the crypto market experienced a noticeable correction. Bitcoin’s quarterly decline was about 23.8%, marking the worst first quarter performance since 2018. Total crypto market cap fell 20.4%, roughly 45% below its October 2025 peak. Bitcoin spot ETFs saw net outflows of approximately $497 million for the quarter. JPMorgan’s analysis shows that total digital asset capital inflow in Q1 was only about $11 billion, roughly one-third of the same period last year, indicating a clear slowdown in market momentum.

In this market environment, institutional actions show significant divergence.

Jane Street: IBIT holdings down 71%, increased Galaxy Digital

As one of Wall Street’s most active proprietary traders, Jane Street’s Q1 operations have attracted market attention.

According to its latest 13F filing, Jane Street sharply reduced its Bitcoin ETF holdings. Specifically, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) holdings decreased by about 71% quarter-over-quarter, to approximately 5.9 million shares, with a market value of about $225 million; Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC) cut about 60%, to around 2 million shares.

Meanwhile, Jane Street significantly increased its Ethereum allocations. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) holdings nearly doubled, and Fidelity’s Ethereum fund (FETH) also saw substantial increases, adding a combined exposure of about $82 million.

In crypto-related stocks, Galaxy Digital surged from about 17k shares to roughly 1.5 million shares, Riot Platforms increased holdings from about 5 million to 7.4 million shares, and Coinbase also modestly increased. Its Strategy holdings dropped from approximately 968k shares to about 210k shares, a reduction of about 78%. Several Bitcoin mining companies’ holdings also shrank, including IREN, Cipher Mining, TeraWulf, and Core Scientific.

It’s worth noting that Jane Street recorded a record $16.1 billion in trading revenue in Q1. The 13F only discloses long positions at quarter-end, excluding derivatives and short positions. Bitwise analyst Jeff Park pointed out that Jane Street previously increased Strategy holdings by over 470% in a prior quarter; the current reduction is more likely related to basis trading position unwinding rather than a directional bearish view on Bitcoin.

JPMorgan: Significantly increased Bitcoin ETF holdings, fully exited XRP ETF

In contrast to Jane Street, JPMorgan continued to accumulate during Bitcoin’s dip below $80k. IBIT holdings rose from about 3 million shares to approximately 8.3 million shares, an increase of about 174%, adding roughly $17k in market value.

Additionally, the bank’s holdings of Bitwise Bitcoin ETF (BITB) surged about 900%, Fidelity’s FBTC increased about 450%, and ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF (BITO), which tracks Bitcoin futures, soared over 3000%.

In other crypto assets, JPMorgan initiated a position in Bitwise Solana Staking ETF (BSOL), buying about 47.5k shares, and increased its holdings of BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) by about 36%. At the same time, the bank completely exited its Bitwise XRP ETF.

On the stock side, JPMorgan added to positions in Strategy, MARA Holdings, and Core Scientific, while reducing holdings in Coinbase, Galaxy Digital, and Robinhood.

Wells Fargo: Contrarian increase in Ethereum ETF, nearly complete exit from Galaxy Digital

Wells Fargo’s actions also show clear internal divergence.

For Ethereum, its holdings of BlackRock’s ETHA increased from about 673k shares to roughly 1.1 million shares, a gain of about 63.5%; Bitwise Ethereum ETF (ETHW) increased by about 37%, with combined market value around $21.5 million. This increase occurred amid Ethereum’s two-quarter decline—Q4 2025 down about 28%, Q1 2026 down about 29%—and Ethereum spot ETF net outflows of about $769 million in Q1.

For Bitcoin, Wells Fargo’s positioning was more diversified. IBIT slightly reduced holdings, but Bitwise Bitcoin ETF increased by about 24%, Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust by about 41%, with Bitcoin ETFs remaining its main crypto exposure. The total market value of IBIT was about $250 million.

On stocks, Wells Fargo increased Strategy holdings from about 323k shares to roughly 726k shares, a 125% increase, adding about $41.6 million in exposure. Meanwhile, Galaxy Digital holdings plummeted from about 2.5 million shares to 78.6k shares, a 97% decrease, reducing exposure by about $54.7 million.

BlackRock: Increasing Strategy and Bitmine holdings, on-chain Bitcoin continued buying

As the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock’s Q1 13F shows it holds significant crypto-related stocks.

Among them, Coinbase (COIN) held about 16.75 million shares, worth roughly $2.92 billion, a slight decrease of about 330,000 shares from the previous quarter; Circle (CRCL) held about 5.06 million shares, worth about $483 million, reducing by about 615k shares.

Strategy (MSTR) increased to about 17.75 million shares, worth roughly $2.22 billion, up about 3.15 million shares; Ethereum treasury company Bitmine (BMNR) increased to about 11.08 million shares, worth about $219 million, up about 2.03 million shares.

The combined market value of these four holdings is about $5.8 billion. Although they represent a small proportion of BlackRock’s total holdings (~$968k), the simultaneous increase in Strategy and Bitmine indicates continued confidence in Bitcoin and Ethereum treasury narratives.

On-chain data shows that during Q1, BlackRock’s Bitcoin holdings increased from about 770k to 785k BTC, a net buy of about 15k BTC, but due to price declines, market value dropped from roughly $68 billion to about $51.8 billion. Ethereum holdings decreased from about 3.47 million to 3.06 million ETH, a net outflow of about 410k ETH, with overall crypto portfolio value shrinking by about $20.4 billion, mainly driven by price.

Additionally, IBIT’s daily average trading volume in Q1 exceeded $3.2 billion, with 48 out of 62 trading days recording net inflows. On January 27th, a single-day inflow of about $1.3 billion set a record. However, on-chain holdings mainly reflect client fund inflows and outflows via ETFs, not BlackRock’s directional bets.

ARK Invest: Heavy holdings in Circle, betting on stablecoin sector

Cathie Wood’s ARK Invest, as the issuer of ARKB Bitcoin Spot ETF, discloses its active fund holdings of crypto stocks in the 13F. The filings show ARK increased holdings in Circle (CRCL), Robinhood (HOOD), Bullish (BLSH), and Bitmine (BMNR), while slightly reducing Coinbase (COIN).

In terms of timing, in February, when Bitcoin dropped to around $75k, ARK’s three funds—ARKF, ARKK, and ARKW—combined bought about $72 million worth of crypto stocks, continuing its pattern of adding on dips.

Notably, ARK’s position in Circle (CRCL) increased significantly, rising to about 4.51 million shares, with its portfolio share increasing from 2.18% to 3.34%. ARK plans to continue increasing CRCL holdings in Q2.

Circle’s just-released Q1 earnings report showed a 20% year-over-year revenue increase, USDC circulation rising to $77 billion, and trading volume up 263%, further confirming ARK’s stablecoin sector bets.

Other institutions also active

Other notable moves include WisdomTree launching a tokenized money market fund this quarter, driving Q1 net inflows of $98 million, with total digital asset management reaching a record $866 million by the end of March.

Grayscale completed rebalancing its funds, adding Ethena (ENA) tokens (13.59% weight) to its DeFi fund, while removing Aerodrome Finance; in its smart contract platform fund, Ethereum holdings increased to 30.14%, surpassing Solana’s 29.69%.

Chinese asset manager Dan Bin’s Orient Harbor disclosed in its latest 13F an increase of 31.7k CRCL shares, valued at about $302,000.

Morgan Stanley, though not yet disclosed its Q1 13F, saw its Bitcoin ETF (MSBT, fee 0.14%) launched on April 8th, with net inflows totaling $193.6 million and assets reaching $239.6 million. It recorded 17 days of net inflows and 5 days of flat trading in its first month, with no single-day net outflows.

Three major signals from institutional crypto allocations

Analyzing these moves reveals three notable trends.

First, institutional interest in Ethereum is increasing. Jane Street, Wells Fargo, and JPMorgan all increased their Ethereum ETF exposure in Q1, even amid broad market outflows. This suggests some institutions are starting to view Ethereum as infrastructure for long-term strategic positioning.

Second, the divergence in Bitcoin views mainly stems from strategy differences rather than fundamental judgment. JPMorgan’s systematic accumulation at lows reflects a long-term allocation approach; Jane Street’s significant reduction, combined with its record Q1 revenue, likely indicates a trading strategy adjustment rather than a bearish outlook on Bitcoin.

Third, crypto-related stocks are becoming unavoidable for institutions. As companies like Circle, Coinbase, and Strategy go public or expand, these stocks have shifted from fringe assets to core holdings for some institutions. ARK’s largest holdings include Circle, which is also rapidly accumulating, with over 50% gains since the start of the year. The underlying stablecoin infrastructure logic is increasingly recognized by institutions.

In terms of specific targets, divergence is also evident. Galaxy Digital is the most polarizing—Wells Fargo nearly fully exited, reducing holdings by about 97%; JPMorgan also cut holdings; but Jane Street increased from about 17k shares to 1.5 million, nearly establishing a new position from scratch. Meanwhile, many institutions are jointly increasing Strategy, viewing it as a proxy for Bitcoin exposure.

Now, with over half of Q2 gone, those institutions that kept adding at lows in Q1 are beginning to see validation.

In April, Bitcoin rose about 11.87%, Ethereum about 7.3%. Bitcoin spot ETF net inflows in April reached about $2.44 billion, a six-month high, with total assets surpassing $100 billion for the first time. BlackRock’s IBIT saw about $210k in net inflows in April, and Morgan Stanley’s MSBT had about $194 million in its first month. Bitcoin has now reclaimed the $80k level, and market risk appetite has improved.

As of press time, major institutions like Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Millennium, and hedge funds have yet to release their Q1 13F filings, expected in the coming days, which will complete this picture of institutional divergence.