In a significant reshuffling of its digital asset portfolio, Wall Street market-making powerhouse Jane Street drastically reduced its exposure to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) during the first quarter of 2026. According to a 13F filing published Tuesday, the firm moved away from several cornerstone Bitcoin products while simultaneously doubling down on Ether-linked assets and select crypto-native equities.

Strategic Retreat from Bitcoin ETFs

The filing reveals a sharp cooling of Jane Street’s appetite for the Big Two Bitcoin ETFs. The firm cut its holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) by approximately 71%, leaving it with 5.9 million shares valued at $225 million. A similar trend was seen with the Fidelity Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), where the firm slashed its position by 60% to roughly 2 million shares.

This retreat extended beyond ETFs to Michael Saylor’s Strategy (MSTR). After a massive 473% increase in its MSTR stake during the final quarter of 2025, Jane Street reversed course in Q1 2026, slashing its common stock holdings by 78% to a remaining value of roughly $27 million.

Ether Rotation: Institutional Momentum Shifts

While Bitcoin exposure weakened, Jane Street’s interest in Ether (ETH) surged. The firm nearly doubled its position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) and significantly increased its stake in the Fidelity Ethereum Fund (FETH). Combined, Jane Street added at least $82 million in new Ether ETF exposure over the quarter.

This rotation mirrors broader institutional behavior seen in early 2026. Major players like Wells Fargo have also reported increased Ether ETF buying, suggesting that the “Ethereum as a utility layer” narrative is beginning to attract the capital that previously focused solely on Bitcoin’s “digital gold” thesis.

Selective Growth: Crypto Mining and Infrastructure

Despite the broader downside pressure on Bitcoin-centric assets, Jane Street’s 13F suggests a more surgical approach to crypto-linked equities rather than a broad sector exit. While the firm trimmed positions in miners like IREN and TeraWulf, it significantly increased its stake in Riot Platforms (RIOT) to 7.4 million shares, valued at approximately $91 million.

Other key beneficiaries of Jane Street’s reshuffling included

• Coinbase (COIN): Holdings rose to 888,000 shares, now valued at approximately $155 million.
• Galaxy Digital (GLXY): The firm saw an explosive expansion, jumping from just 17,000 shares to 1.5 million shares.

Record Revenue Amid Volatility

The portfolio rebalancing comes as Jane Street reports a record $16.1 billion in Q1 trading revenue. The firm’s financial success has been bolstered by high market volatility and significant gains tied to artificial intelligence investments. While 13F filings provide a snapshot of reportable holdings and do not represent a market maker’s full net exposure or “short” positions, the data clearly signals a strategic pivot toward Ether and diversified crypto infrastructure heading into mid-2026.

Bitcoin, DeFi & FinTech, Ethereum, News

On May 13, 2026, eToro (ETOR) released a first-quarter earnings report that presented a striking paradox: while the platform’s crypto-related revenue and trading activity cooled significantly, its leadership is leaning into the sector more aggressively than ever. Despite a cold front in the derivatives market, CEO Yoni Assia remains steadfast, predicting that Bitcoin and the broader market will surge toward all-time highs before the year is out.

Chill in the Crypto Financials

The numbers for the first quarter highlight a notable retreat in retail engagement. Revenue from crypto assets fell 38% year-over-year to $2.15 billion. The impact was felt most acutely in the high-leverage segment, where net trading income from crypto derivatives plummeted 57%, resting at $33.4 million.

This downward trend showed no signs of slowing in the early spring. Data for April revealed that the total number of crypto trades on the platform slid 32% compared to the same month in 2025, while the average amount invested per trade dropped by 22%. However, it wasn’t all red ink for the social trading giant. eToro’s overall net income actually rose 37% to reach $82.4 million, suggesting that the firm’s diversified cross-asset model is shielding it from the specific volatility of the digital asset market.

The “Buy the Dip” Mentality

While the charts might suggest a waning interest, Yoni Assia interprets the data through a more optimistic lens. Speaking to CNBC, Assia noted that when markets soften, the eToro user base tends to show resilience rather than panic. “Our data suggests that when the markets fall, retail investors on eToro actually buy the dip,” Assia explained.

Assia’s conviction is rooted in the belief that the current lull is merely a consolidation phase. He expects crypto engagement to reignite as prices trend back toward record levels, a shift he believes will be a primary driver for the platform’s performance in the latter half of 2026.

Strategic Expansion: New York and Zengo

Proving that its bullishness isn’t just talk, eToro has moved forward with two massive structural plays. The company officially activated its New York BitLicense, three years after it was initially granted, clearing the path for eToro to tap into the lucrative New York trading market.

Furthermore, eToro finalized its $70 million acquisition of self-custodial wallet provider Zengo on April 30. According to Assia, this move is central to the company’s vision of “bridging traditional finance with on-chain infrastructure.” By integrating Zengo’s technology, eToro aims to expand its footprint in prediction markets, perpetuals, and the wider decentralized ecosystem. Even as ETOR shares dipped slightly by 0.61% in pre-market trading, the company’s trajectory remains firmly pointed toward an on-chain future.

DeFi & FinTech, Markets & Trading, News

On May 13, 2026, the Coinbase-backed protocol x402 officially launched batch settlement, a pivotal feature designed to facilitate high-frequency payments for autonomous AI agents. By allowing agents to authorize numerous small payments off-chain and settle them later in bulk on-chain, the protocol aims to drastically reduce the overhead costs associated with machine-to-machine commerce.

Scaling Machine-to-Machine Transactions

Base creator Jesse Pollak highlighted that the new batch settlement functionality enables micro-payments as low as $0.0001. This price point is essential for the burgeoning agentic economy, where AI systems require on-demand resources such as compute power and model inference in real-time.

The technical flow, according to x402 documentation, requires the buyer to deposit ERC-20 funds into an on-chain escrow account. For each individual request, the agent signs an off-chain cumulative voucher. Sellers can instantly verify these vouchers and provide the requested service without waiting for on-chain confirmation. Periodically, the seller’s channel manager collects vouchers from various channels and redeems them in a single, batched on-chain transaction.

Joshua Nickerson, product lead at the Coinbase Developer Platform, noted that this process creates a gasless experience for the AI agents themselves. Because the facilitator of the transaction sponsors the costs associated with deposits, settlements, and refunds, the agents can operate with greater speed and lower financial friction.

Strategic Restructuring and Industry Adoption

This update comes just one week after Amazon Web Services (AWS) integrated the x402 protocol and wallet infrastructure. This partnership allows AI agents to utilize USDC for payments on the Base and Solana networks without requiring direct access to private keys.

The emphasis on AI infrastructure reflects a broader shift within Coinbase. On May 5, 2026, CEO Brian Armstrong announced a 14% reduction in the company’s workforce to restructure the organization around smaller, AI-focused teams that leverage automation tools.

x402, which is an open protocol based on the HTTP 402 Payment Required status code, has seen significant traction since its inception. In its first year, the protocol processed over 169 million payments, involving 590,000 buyers and over 100,000 sellers. While currently available in TypeScript and Go, x402 is expected to launch a Python implementation in the near future.

The Competitive Landscape for AI Rails

The launch of x402’s batch settlement occurs as other major crypto players accelerate their own AI-focused infrastructure. On Monday, stablecoin issuer Circle introduced a suite of tools for programmable USDC payments specifically for agents. Simultaneously, the Aptos Foundation and Aptos Labs committed $50 million to AI research and agent infrastructure, including projects like the on-chain order book Decibel and the storage protocol Shelby.

These developments, combined with Polygon’s recent move to reduce block times to 1.75 seconds, underscore an industry-wide race to build the primary financial rails for autonomous machine intelligence.

Ethereum, News, Technology & Security

On May 13, 2026, Charles Schwab officially began the rollout of spot Bitcoin and Ether trading to its first group of retail clients. The move integrates digital assets directly into the core brokerage experience for one of the world’s largest financial institutions, which manages over $11 trillion in client assets across nearly 40 million active accounts.

Seamless Integration and Execution

Under the new service, eligible clients can trade and view Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) alongside their stocks, ETFs, and other investments within a single account. The functionality is being deployed across Schwab’s web and mobile interfaces, as well as its professional-grade Thinkorswim platform.

To ensure institutional-grade security and liquidity, Schwab’s own banking unit handles custody, while execution is managed through Paxos. The service carries a transparent fee of 75 basis points (0.75%) per transaction. However, the initial rollout excludes residents of New York and Louisiana due to local regulatory considerations.

From Alternative to Standard Allocation

The launch marks a significant shift in market infrastructure. Analysts note that by bringing crypto into a mainstream brokerage environment, Schwab is removing the friction that previously forced retail investors toward dedicated crypto exchanges or indirect products like ETFs. As noted by the crypto news account HashNews, this is a signal that digital assets are shifting from alternative investments to standard allocations.

This strategic expansion comes on the heels of a blockbuster financial performance for the firm. Last month, Schwab reported a record first-quarter net income of $2.5 billion, a 30% year-over-year increase, providing the company with a robust balance sheet to support its push into the digital asset frontier.

Bitcoin, DeFi & FinTech, Ethereum, Markets & Trading, News