How do institutions rebalance their crypto assets in Q1? Who is increasing their holdings, and who is pulling back?

Author: @Knight_in_Block; Source: X, @Knight_in_Block

The crypto market in the first quarter of 2026 saw a decline followed by a rebound. As of mid-May, the 13F holdings reports were released as expected, revealing a highly differentiated institutional landscape.

On one side, sovereign funds and bank-affiliated capital were adding positions against the trend; on the other, long-established endowment funds decisively reduced risk. Spot ETFs have fully pulled Bitcoin into the tactical contest of global capital.

The clearest signal of increased holdings comes from Mubadala, the Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund. In Q1, it increased its holding of BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust from 12.7 million shares to 14.72 million shares, with a market value of approximately $566 million, continuing the momentum of adding each quarter since the end of 2024.

JPMorgan Chase follows closely, with its IBIT exposure surging 174% quarter-over-quarter. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, Scotiabank, and Barclays are also increasing their Bitcoin ETF holdings, but unlike previous quarters, they generally use both bullish and bearish options to manage their positions in sync.

This shows that even while adding positions, professional institutions are actively constructing asymmetric protection to deal with possible tail-risk shocks.

Going in the opposite direction of the trend above is Harvard University’s endowment fund. The fund had once been one of the largest academic investors in U.S. crypto ETFs, holding nearly $443 million worth of IBIT at its peak.

However, after cutting 21% in Q4 2025, it reduced its holdings by another 43% in Q1 this year, leaving only 3.04 million shares of IBIT at quarter-end, worth $117 million. At the same time, it completely exited BlackRock’s Ethereum spot ETF, ETHA, liquidating a size of approximately $86.8 million.

The destination of the redeployed funds is also clear: newly added holdings in TSMC, Microsoft, Alphabet, and SPDR Gold Trust, among other traditional assets.

Regardless of whether it is characterized as portfolio rebalancing, tactical risk reduction, or a defense against macroeconomic uncertainty, such a scale of withdrawal is still causing attention in the market.

Of course, the Ivy League circle is not moving in lockstep. Brown University and Dartmouth College remain unchanged, holding their respective IBIT positions.

But Dartmouth made more granular adjustments: it shifted its Ethereum exposure from the Grayscale Ethereum Mini Trust to the Grayscale Ethereum Staking ETF, and also opened a new position in the Bitwise Solana Staking ETF, holding 304,800 shares worth $3.67 million.

This proactive capture of staking yields suggests that a group of institutions are no longer satisfied with a single price exposure, and have started to explore enhanced returns potentially generated by on-chain yield.

Diversification doesn’t stop at universities. Hedge fund Jane Street simultaneously cut its IBIT position by 71%, and reduced Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF (FBTC) position by 60%, locking in gains for the period; while Wells Fargo increased its Ethereum exposure in the opposite direction.

It can be seen that institutions currently have fairly effective strategies to respond to the crypto market. Through buying and selling, hedging, and rotating positions—these conventional tactics from the traditional stock world—are being fully replicated in the crypto space as spot ETFs become deeply embedded.

The Q2 13F reports will become the next testing ground. They may to a large extent answer whether Harvard’s retreat is an exception or a sign of broader endowment fund pullbacks. Against the backdrop of current global macro market uncertainty, the crypto market remains full of challenges.