Jane Street slashed its holdings in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust by 71% in the first quarter, cutting to about 5.9 million shares worth roughly $225 million. The quantitative trading firm also trimmed its stake in Fidelity's Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund by 60%, leaving about 2 million shares valued at nearly $115 million. Meanwhile, it plowed new money into Ethereum ETFs, nearly doubling its position in BlackRock's iShares Ethereum Trust and adding substantially to Fidelity's Ethereum fund—combined additions estimated at $82 million.
The size of the rotation
Jane Street's repositioning isn't limited to ETFs. Its holdings in Strategy, the software firm formerly known as MicroStrategy, fell from about 968,000 shares in Q4 2025 to roughly 210,000 shares by the end of Q1. The value of that position dropped from about $146 million to $27 million. Taken together, the firm shed well over $300 million in bitcoin-related exposure in a single quarter.
Why the pivot?
Analysts at Bull Theory argue the move may come down to market mechanics. Ethereum's market cap sits at $273 billion compared to bitcoin's $1.6 trillion. Bitcoin ETFs already hold about 6.67% of circulating supply; Ethereum ETFs hold less. That thinner penetration, they say, makes ETH “easier to move” for a firm of Jane Street's size. The shift comes as bitcoin futures open interest hovers around $60 billion and Ethereum's at roughly $34 billion.
A controversial track record
Jane Street has been tied to several past controversies. The firm was associated with a “daily 10 AM Bitcoin dump” pattern, faced a lawsuit for alleged insider trading during the LUNA collapse, and had $567 million frozen by Indian regulators. The timing of this rotation isn't great—it follows a period of regulatory scrutiny and public skepticism about the firm's influence on crypto markets.
No one from Jane Street commented on the filings. The Q1 disclosures offer a rare look at how one of the largest quant funds is navigating the gap between bitcoin and ether. Whether the bet pays off depends on how much institutional money follows.
