Jane Street significantly increased its position in Fidelity’s spot Bitcoin ETF during the third quarter of 2026 while reducing the number of shares it held in BlackRock’s competing IBIT fund.
The trading firm’s latest Form 13F filing shows that its Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund position rose nearly eightfold during the quarter, reaching more than 7 million shares worth approximately $509.2 million as of September 30.
At the same time, Jane Street cut its BlackRock IBIT share count by about 19%.
Even with fewer IBIT shares, the value of that position still increased because the ETF traded at a higher price by the end of the quarter.
Jane Street boosts Fidelity Bitcoin ETF position by 691%
Jane Street reported holding 7,010,008 shares of the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund, or FBTC, at the end of September.
That was up from 886,736 shares three months earlier.
The addition of 6,123,272 shares represents an increase of roughly 691%.
In other words, Jane Street’s FBTC position became almost 7.9 times larger during the third quarter.
Fidelity stake reaches $509.2 million
The September 30 position was valued at approximately $509.2 million.
At the end of June, the same holding was worth only about $45.3 million.
Part of that increase came from the much larger share count.
Changes in FBTC’s market price also affected the final dollar value.
The move made Fidelity a much more important part of Jane Street’s reported Bitcoin ETF exposure.
The shift reverses an earlier reduction
Jane Street had previously cut its FBTC holdings sharply.
During the first quarter, the trading firm reduced its Fidelity Bitcoin ETF position by roughly 60%.
The latest Q3 filing therefore represents a significant reversal.
Instead of continuing to reduce exposure, Jane Street rebuilt the position aggressively.
Jane Street had previously favored BlackRock’s IBIT
At the end of the second quarter, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF was the dominant position among Jane Street’s reported spot Bitcoin ETF holdings.
The firm held approximately 24.88 million IBIT shares at June 30.
Those shares were valued at about $828.2 million.
By that point, Jane Street’s combined Bitcoin ETF holdings had already exceeded $1 billion.
Q3 shows a broader distribution across Bitcoin ETFs
The September filing reveals a more diversified mix.
Jane Street held major positions in:
- Fidelity FBTC
- BlackRock IBIT
- ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
The combined reported value of those three holdings rose to approximately $1.79 billion at the end of September.
That compares with around $926 million at the end of June.
BlackRock IBIT share count falls 18.7%
Jane Street reported 20,221,140 IBIT shares at September 30.
That was down from 24,878,191 shares three months earlier.
The reduction of 4,657,051 shares represents a decline of approximately 18.7%.
This shows Jane Street was actively reducing its ordinary IBIT share exposure during the quarter.
IBIT position value still increased
Despite holding fewer shares, the reported value of Jane Street’s IBIT position rose.
The stake was valued at approximately $957.3 million at September 30.
That compares with $828.2 million at June 30.
The increase illustrates why share-count changes and dollar-value changes need to be analyzed separately.
A fund position can shrink in units while becoming more valuable because the market price rises.
13F filings show holdings, not investment motives
Jane Street’s filing tells investors what securities the firm reported holding at the end of the quarter.
It does not explain why each position changed.
A larger FBTC holding does not necessarily mean Jane Street made a simple directional bet that Fidelity’s fund would outperform BlackRock’s.
The firm is a major market maker and trading company.
Its ETF holdings can reflect several activities, including hedging, market making, arbitrage, and inventory management.
Jane Street also reported large IBIT options positions
The filing listed options tied to IBIT separately from the ordinary ETF shares.
Jane Street reported call options referencing approximately 34.97 million IBIT shares.
It also reported put options referencing roughly 45.32 million shares.
Those positions demonstrate that the firm’s overall exposure to IBIT is more complicated than its common-share balance alone.
Calls and puts can serve different purposes
Call options generally benefit from higher prices.
Put options can benefit from declines.
But institutional trading firms frequently use combinations of options and shares to hedge or create market-neutral positions.
This means the gross size of options exposure should not automatically be interpreted as a bullish or bearish directional view.
The full portfolio would be needed to understand Jane Street’s net exposure.
IBIT remains the largest U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF
BlackRock’s IBIT remained the largest U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF by assets.
BlackRock reported approximately $56.3 billion in net assets for the fund as of November 12.
Its scale makes it an important part of institutional Bitcoin trading.
Even after cutting its share count, Jane Street still reported nearly $1 billion worth of IBIT shares at the end of Q3.
Jane Street dramatically increases ARKB holdings
The firm also expanded its position in the ARK 21Shares Bitcoin ETF.
Jane Street held approximately 11,689,194 ARKB shares at the end of September.
That was up from around 2,700,151 shares at the end of June.
The firm added nearly 8.99 million shares during the quarter.
ARKB stake rises to $323.7 million
Jane Street’s ARKB position was valued at approximately $323.7 million at September 30.
At the end of June, the holding was worth around $52.5 million.
The increase means Jane Street was adding heavily to both Fidelity’s and ARK’s Bitcoin ETFs while reducing ordinary IBIT shares.
Combined Bitcoin ETF holdings rise sharply
Based on the reported FBTC, IBIT, and ARKB positions, Jane Street’s combined holdings reached approximately $1.79 billion.
That compares with roughly $926 million three months earlier.
The increase reflects both larger share positions in selected funds and higher ETF prices during the quarter.
Jane Street also increases Ethereum ETF exposure
The trading firm increased its position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust ETF, or ETHA.
The reported share count rose from approximately 7.61 million to 15.44 million.
That represents an increase of about 7.83 million shares.
The position more than doubled during the quarter.
ETHA stake reaches $310.6 million
Jane Street’s ETHA position was valued at approximately $310.6 million at September 30.
That compares with roughly $90.4 million at June 30.
The sharp increase shows that the firm was also expanding reported exposure to spot Ethereum ETFs.
The filing does not prove Jane Street became more bullish on crypto
A large increase in ETF holdings can look like a straightforward bullish signal.
But 13F data should be interpreted carefully.
Jane Street is an active market maker.
Its holdings may support liquidity provision, customer trades, arbitrage, or options strategies.
The filing shows position size at a particular date.
It does not reveal the full reason those positions were held.
13F filings are also backward-looking
The reported positions reflect September 30 holdings.
The filing was submitted on November 12.
Jane Street could have materially changed those positions during the weeks between quarter-end and the filing date.
That delay is important when interpreting institutional disclosures.
JPMorgan also increased IBIT holdings
Jane Street was not the only institution changing its Bitcoin ETF exposure.
JPMorgan Chase reported 11.41 million IBIT shares in its November 12 filing.
The position was worth approximately $540 million.
That represented an increase of about 1 million shares, or 9.6%, compared with the previous quarter.
JPMorgan sharply reduced its ETHA position
While JPMorgan increased its BlackRock Bitcoin ETF exposure, it moved in the opposite direction on BlackRock’s Ethereum fund.
The bank’s ETHA position fell to just 399 shares.
That was down from approximately 1.17 million shares at June 30.
The reduction was therefore extremely large.
Laurore cuts IBIT position by one-third
Hong Kong-based Laurore reported a significant reduction in its IBIT holdings.
The firm cut its position by approximately 1.6 million shares.
It ended the quarter with 3,246,279 IBIT shares.
That represents a decline of around 33%.
Laurore’s remaining stake worth $153.7 million
The remaining IBIT position was valued at approximately $153.7 million.
Like Jane Street’s reduction, Laurore’s sale shows that institutional investors did not move uniformly during the third quarter.
Some firms added exposure.
Others reduced it.
That makes aggregate ETF flow data more useful than trying to interpret one institution in isolation.
Barclays increased IBIT shares earlier in the quarter
Other major banks also reported larger Bitcoin ETF positions.
Barclays previously disclosed an approximately 48% increase in its IBIT share count.
That indicates continued institutional interest in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF even while some trading firms were reducing their holdings.
Citigroup established a major FBTC position
Citigroup also reported a new position in Fidelity’s FBTC.
The bank held approximately 1.64 million shares at September 30.
That adds another large financial institution to the list of firms reporting exposure to Fidelity’s Bitcoin ETF.
Institutional Bitcoin ETF positioning is becoming more diversified
The Q3 filings show institutions spreading exposure across multiple ETF issuers.
BlackRock remains the largest fund provider in the market.
But Fidelity and ARK are also attracting substantial institutional positions.
This suggests that institutional Bitcoin ETF trading is not concentrated entirely in one product.
Why might institutions choose different Bitcoin ETFs?
Several factors can influence ETF selection.
These may include:
- Liquidity
- Bid-ask spreads
- Fees
- Options availability
- Creation and redemption activity
- Counterparty relationships
- Arbitrage opportunities
A market maker may hold multiple ETFs simultaneously to take advantage of price differences or support customer activity.
ETF share count and Bitcoin exposure are not exactly the same
Each ETF share represents exposure to the fund’s underlying Bitcoin holdings.
But the number of shares cannot be compared directly across different funds without considering share prices and net asset values.
For example, 10 million shares of one ETF may represent a very different dollar exposure from 10 million shares of another.
That is why both share counts and market values matter.
Institutions can use ETF arbitrage strategies
Authorized participants and market makers can help keep ETF prices close to their underlying net asset values.
When an ETF trades away from the value of its Bitcoin holdings, traders may buy one side and sell the other.
This arbitrage process can create large temporary ETF positions.
Jane Street’s role in market making means some of its reported holdings may be connected to this type of activity.
Options can further complicate ETF exposure
Jane Street’s large IBIT call and put positions show why common shares provide only part of the picture.
An institution can own ETF shares while simultaneously holding options that offset part of the risk.
It can also construct volatility strategies that are relatively insensitive to Bitcoin’s direction.
The reported gross holdings therefore should not be treated as a simple Bitcoin price forecast.
Institutional adoption can still matter for ETF liquidity
Even when holdings are driven partly by market-making activity, large institutional positions can deepen liquidity.
Greater liquidity can lead to:
- Tighter spreads
- Better execution
- Larger trade capacity
- More efficient arbitrage
These characteristics can make spot Bitcoin ETFs more attractive to other professional investors.
Fidelity’s Q3 growth stands out
Among Jane Street’s reported Bitcoin ETF changes, Fidelity’s FBTC saw one of the most dramatic increases.
A 691% rise in share count is significant even for an active trading firm.
The position moved from less than $50 million at the end of June to more than $500 million three months later.
That makes Fidelity a substantially larger component of Jane Street’s reported crypto ETF portfolio.
ARKB growth was also substantial
ARKB saw an even larger absolute share increase.
Jane Street added nearly 9 million ARKB shares.
The position grew more than fourfold in share-count terms.
Together, the FBTC and ARKB additions more than offset the reduction in IBIT ordinary shares.
What do the Q3 filings really tell investors?
The disclosures confirm that large financial institutions continue to hold and trade significant positions in U.S. crypto ETFs.
They also show that institutional allocation can shift significantly between funds from quarter to quarter.
What they do not reveal is whether each firm expects Bitcoin to rise or fall.
That conclusion requires more information than a 13F position snapshot provides.
What to watch next
Several developments will show whether the Q3 changes were temporary or part of a longer trend.
Q4 13F filings:
These will show whether Jane Street maintained its larger FBTC and ARKB positions.
ETF flows:
Daily inflows and outflows provide more current evidence than quarterly institutional disclosures.
IBIT options:
Growth in options activity can reveal increasing institutional use of hedging and volatility strategies.
Fidelity assets:
Continued institutional accumulation could help FBTC gain market share.
Ethereum ETF exposure:
Jane Street’s larger ETHA holding will be worth watching alongside broader institutional ETH demand.
Final thoughts
Jane Street made significant changes to its reported crypto ETF portfolio during the third quarter of 2026.
Its Fidelity Bitcoin ETF holdings jumped 691% to more than 7 million shares worth approximately $509.2 million.
Its ARKB position also increased sharply to nearly 11.7 million shares worth $323.7 million.
At the same time, Jane Street reduced its ordinary BlackRock IBIT share count by about 18.7%.
Even after that reduction, the IBIT stake remained the largest of the three, worth approximately $957.3 million.
Combined, Jane Street’s reported FBTC, IBIT, and ARKB positions were worth around $1.79 billion at the end of September.
The figures show substantial institutional activity across U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs.
But because Jane Street is a major market maker with large options positions, the filings should not be interpreted as a simple directional Bitcoin bet.
They are best viewed as evidence that institutional trading around crypto ETFs continues to grow in both size and complexity.
Disclosure: This article is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.
