Crypto World
BlackRock CEO Larry Fink Compares Tokenization to the 1996 Internet in Annual Chairman’s Letter
TLDR:
- Larry Fink compared tokenization to the internet in 1996, signaling a major shift in institutional thinking.
- BlackRock manages nearly $150B in digital assets, including BUIDL, the world’s largest tokenized fund.
- Fink sees digital wallets as a gateway for retail investors to access tokenized bonds, stocks, and ETFs.
- BlackRock holds $65B in stablecoin reserves, reflecting deep and growing institutional commitment to digital finance.
Tokenization is at the heart of BlackRock CEO Larry Fink’s 2026 Annual Chairman’s Letter, where he outlines a case for digital assets reshaping global investing.
Fink, who oversees $14 trillion in assets under management, drew a direct parallel between tokenization and the early internet.
His remarks come as BlackRock deepens its presence in the digital finance space, managing nearly $150 billion in digital assets, including BUIDL, the world’s largest tokenized fund.
BlackRock Sees Tokenization as a Gateway to Broader Market Access
Fink’s letter points to digital wallets as a key driver of change in how everyday people access financial markets. He noted that half the world’s population already carries a digital wallet on their phone.
That existing infrastructure, he argued, could become a gateway to investing in tokenized stocks, bonds, and ETFs.
Ondo Finance shared key excerpts from the letter on X, drawing attention to Fink’s vision for a more accessible financial system.
In his own words, Fink wrote: “Half the world’s population carries a digital wallet on their phone. Imagine if that same digital wallet could also let you invest in a broad mix of companies for the long term, as easily as sending a payment.”
He went further, adding that “tokenization could help accelerate that future,” framing the technology as a practical tool for expanding market participation. That statement captures the scale of what tokenization could mean for retail investors globally.
Tokenized assets allow for fractional ownership, meaning investors with limited capital can still access markets previously reserved for larger institutions.
Beyond equities, tokenized bonds and ETFs could also become part of everyday portfolio-building, settling faster and at lower cost on blockchain infrastructure.
Regulation and Stablecoin Reserves Reflect Institutional Commitment to Digital Finance
BlackRock’s letter also touched on the role of regulation in advancing digital finance. Fink made clear that regulatory clarity around investor protection and digital identity is not a roadblock. Instead, he described it as the very infrastructure that makes progress possible.
Ondo Finance summarized his position directly, noting that Fink sees regulation as something that “enables” progress rather than restricts it.
That framing aligns with how many in the crypto industry have long argued for structured, workable rules rather than blanket restrictions.
The letter also pointed to $65 billion in stablecoin reserves held by BlackRock, reflecting deep institutional commitment to digital finance.
That figure shows how far digital assets have moved from the fringes of finance into mainstream capital allocation strategies.
As the world’s largest asset manager puts tokenization at the center of its annual communication to shareholders, the technology moves further into the institutional mainstream. BlackRock’s position makes that direction increasingly difficult to overlook.
One of Switzerland’s most prominent banking dynasties has officially fractured. Marc Syz has walked away from his family’s CHF 24 billion legacy at Banque Syz to bet the firm’s future on a Bitcoin treasury strategy that his father rejected.
The split centers on Future Holdings AG, a corporate treasury vehicle holding 5,000 BTC. Marc Syz and partner Richard Byworth pushed to integrate the $450 million position directly into the bank’s alternative asset arm.
Eric Syz refused.
Now Marc is taking the unit public independently. The move exposes a deep fault line in Swiss wealth management between capital preservation and digital asset adoption. The window for compromise has closed.
- The Asset: Future Holdings AG holds over 5,000 BTC in its corporate treasury, valued at approximately $450 million as of March 2026.
- The Event: Marc Syz has filed regulatory papers for a dual listing on Nasdaq and SIX Swiss Exchange to raise CHF 500 million later this year.
- The Friction: While 28% of private banks plan crypto allocations by 2027, CRD VI compliance deadlines are forcing institutions to choose between integration and exclusion.
The Mechanics of the Syz Separation Explained
This is not a simple resignation. It is a fundamental divergence on how value is stored. Marc Syz previously led Syz Capital, managing CHF 1.2 billion in alternative assets. His proposal was to absorb Future Holdings AG and its Bitcoin stack directly into the bank’s offering.
The structure was modeled explicitly on MicroStrategy. With 5,000 BTC on the balance sheet, the entity acts as a high-beta proxy for Bitcoin price action. Richard Byworth, a former HSBC and Ripple executive, joined as co-founder to build the infrastructure.
Banque Syz leadership balked at the volatility. The bank, founded in 1995, prioritizes the stability required by its private banking clientele.
While major US institutions like Morgan Stanley advance Bitcoin ETF applications to capture fee revenue, holding physical Bitcoin on a family bank’s balance sheet remains a bridge too far for the older guard.
Marc responded by filing for an IPO. Regulatory filings submitted to FINMA on March 15 confirm the plan for a dual listing on Nasdaq and the SIX Swiss Exchange. The goal is to raise CHF 500 million to expand the treasury further. The split is now administrative reality.
Can Old Money Survive the Bitcoin Transition?
The Syz family split is bigger than a boardroom disagreement.
Swiss wealth managers are staring down a relevance crisis. PwC data shows 28% plan to allocate 5-10% to crypto by 2027. Execution is stalling because of exactly this kind of internal governance clash.
Marc Syz is taking the corporate treasury route. 5,000 BTC in custody. Future Holdings heading for a public listing. The thesis is straightforward: Bitcoin is the only real hedge against monetary debasement available to family offices.
At completion, this deal sees @H100Group become the #1 BTCTC in Europe. — Richard Byworth ∞/21M (@RichardByworth) March 23, 2026
Then Switzerland 
Then tackling the 800bln bond market with zero yield
Just like Bitcoin: tick tock next block
Quiet continuous execution with @Sanderandersenn, @Wiik_Johannes, @HUGESKY852, @SYZCAP 
https://t.co/1xq5PKOXAv
Eric Syz and the main Banque Syz branch are not following. They are sticking to traditional digitization, modernizing without putting the balance sheet anywhere near crypto volatility.
The market is moving faster than both of them.
By taking Future Holdings public, Marc Syz is not just making a bet. He is forcing the market to price his vision against his father’s. The prospectus is with FINMA. The split is official.
The dynasty is no longer hedging. It is dividing.
Discover: The best new crypto in the world
The post Switzerland Private Banking Dynasty Is Tearing Itself Apart Over Crypto appeared first on Cryptonews.
Bitcoin moved back above $71,000 after US President Donald Trump postponed Iran strike for five days, sending oil price crashing below $100.
Bitcoin (BTC) broke back toward $71,000 during Monday’s European trading session as US President Donald Trump said attacks on Iran’s power infrastructure would be postponed.
Key takeaways:
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Bitcoin bounces 5% to $71,000 after President Trump said US attacks on Iran’s infrastructure would be postponed.
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$270 million in short positions were liquidated in an hour.
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Focus now shifts to $72,000–$75,000 liquidity zones to see if BTC price will rise further to grab these.
Bitcoin erases weekend losses with 5% rebound
Data from TradingView showed BTC price rose as much as 4.7% within 60 minutes to an intraday high of $71,500, recouping all the losses made over the last three days. The last time BTC/USD traded above $71,000 was on March 19.
The price reacted to President Trump’s announcement of a five-day pause on planned US military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure after “very good and productive” discussions with Tehran.
“And this shall henceforth be known as the ‘TACO PUMP,’” Coinbureau CEO Nic Puckrin said in response to Bitcoin’s reaction following the news.
The move in Bitcoin was accompanied by $270 million in short liquidations within an hour, with BTC short liquidations accounting for $120 million.
This brought the total liquidations across the crypto market over the last 24 hours to $781 million.
Gold erased almost all its earlier losses, now down just 1% on the day and rebounding to $4,440 per ounce, while the dollar index (DXY) has slipped to 99.3.
Related: Gold bear market and sub-$50K BTC: Five things to know in Bitcoin this week
Oil, a key macro risk factor, dropped as much as 16% to $92 from an intraday high of $110, while WTI crude dropped below $85 — the steepest single-day decline since late 2025.
However, Iranian officials quickly denied the reports of substantive productive talks, insisting no meaningful concessions had been made and reiterating demands for a complete halt to US and Israeli actions before any broader resolution.
Bitcoin price fills CME gap at $70,000
Bitcoin started the week with a significant CME gap around $70,000. This gap has now been filled with the latest price rise. Traders will now focus on the next one near the $80,000 region.
Meanwhile, the liquidation heatmap showed BTC price eating away ask orders below $72,000. A close above this level would push the BTC/USD pair toward $75,000, where the next major liquidity cluster sits.
On the downside, “the $64K-$65K region is interesting,” analyst Daan Crypto Trades said, adding:
“Currently there’s a lot of fear for the latter which is why most markets have been selling off a lot the past few trading days.“
This article does not contain investment advice or recommendations. Every investment and trading move involves risk, and readers should conduct their own research when making a decision. While we strive to provide accurate and timely information, Cointelegraph does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any information in this article. This article may contain forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties. Cointelegraph will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your reliance on this information.
Crypto investment products maintained their inflow streak last week but momentum slowed amid ongoing Middle East tensions and a “hawkish pause” interpretation of the US Fed’s meeting.
Crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs) recorded $230 million in inflows last week, with $405 million in outflows following the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting in the US, CoinShares reported Monday.
The inflows extended the streak to four consecutive weeks, but the latest total was sharply lower than the previous week’s $1.06 billion.
CoinShares head of research James Butterfill largely attributed the slowdown to the market’s “hawkish pause” interpretation of the US Federal Reserve’s Wednesday meeting, rather than broader geopolitical tensions.
“The intra-week data supports this,” Butterfill said, referring to strong inflows in the first two days of the week before reversing sharply in the wake of the FOMC meeting.
Bitcoin funds lead inflows, while Ether reverses
Bitcoin (BTC) accounted for nearly all of last week’s crypto ETP inflows, posting $219.2 million in gains. Ether (ETH) funds saw $27.5 million in outflows, ending a three-week inflow streak.
Solana (SOL) saw $17 million in inflows for the seventh straight week, bringing the total to $136 million and making it one of the most popular ETP assets in recent months.
Additionally, notable gains came from Chainlink (LINK) and Hyperliquid (HYPE), with inflows netting $4.6 million and $4.5 million, respectively.
Related: NYSE exchanges scrap crypto options cap on 11 Bitcoin, Ether ETFs
Crypto ETPs have clocked $1.4 billion of inflows year-to-date, with Bitcoin ETPs leading at $1.2 billion. Total assets under management stand at $138 billion, according to CoinShares.
US spot Bitcoin ETFs account for 43% of gains
About half of Bitcoin ETP inflows were driven by the US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) last week, which ended the week with $95.2 million in inflows.
The inflows marked four consecutive weeks of gains totaling $2.2 billion, according to SoSoValue data. Despite the gains, spot Bitcoin ETFs remain underwater year-to-date, with roughly $400 million in outflows.
Similar to broader investment products, US spot Ether ETFs failed to maintain the inflow streak after three weeks of inflows, with last week’s outflows totaling around $60 million.
The US spot Ether ETFs have seen $599 million in outflows year-to-date, while broader ETPs were roughly $50 million underwater.
Magazine: Google flags crypto malware, retiree loses $840K in ‘expert’ scam: Hodler’s Digest, Mar. 15 – 21
XRP is trading at the $1.40 price level, down just 1% over 24 hours, as the prediction says crypto markets will pull back further despite new U.S. regulatory clarity classifying the token as a digital commodity.
The classification, confirmed by the SEC and CFTC, handed bulls a headline victory, but the rally fizzled fast. We hit a wall of macro aggression: a hawkish Federal Reserve stalling rate cuts and a geopolitical oil spike to above $100 per barrel, before dropping this hour to under $90.
The $1.40 level, once a floor, has turned into a ceiling and a battleground for the week ahead.
XRP Price Prediction: Will Ripple Reclaim $1.50 Amid Macro Headwinds?
The technical landscape for Ripple’s native token is precarious. While the asset benefits from established support following the May 2025 SEC settlement, the failure to hold above $1.45 suggests buyer exhaustion. Trading volumes have thinned as capital rotates into commodities; oil prices above $112 act as a liquidity sponge, soaking up risk capital.
If bulls cannot reclaim $1.45 within 48 hours, the next logical support sits significantly lower. Conversely, a clean break above $1.45, fueled perhaps by institutional flows into spot ETFs, could target $1.55.
On-chain data signals XRP may be near a bottom, but the macro environment demands caution. With rates stuck at 3.50%-3.75%, the cost of capital remains high, dampening the leverage needed for a sustained breakout.
BREAKING: — Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) March 18, 2026
Federal Reserve leaves interest rates unchanged, remains at 3.50% – 3.75%.
Traders should watch the $1.30 support level closely. A breakdown here validates the pressure seen since the start of 2026, potentially exposing the asset to a deeper flush toward $1.30. Is the market pricing in a delay to altcoin season? The data points to a temporary risk-off sentiment.
Maxi Doge Targets Early Mover Upside as XRP Tests Key Levels
While major cap assets like XRP wrestle with interest rate realities and oil shocks, a subset of traders is rotating into high-velocity presales unaffected by Brent crude charts. Capital is seeking volatility in new narratives. Enter Maxi Doge ($MAXI), a new entrant aggressively targeting the “degen” trading subculture with a distinct leverage-king aesthetic.
The project has raised more than $4,6 million thus far, priced at $0.000281 per token and a staking reward bonus of 66%. Unlike standard meme tokens that rely solely on cute imagery, Maxi Doge integrates holder-only trading competitions and a “Maxi Fund” treasury designed for liquidity injections. It appeals to the high-risk demographic with the tagline “Never skip leg-day, never skip a pump.”
Meme coin liquidity is thinning elsewhere, yet $MAXI continues to attract inflows due to its specific market fit: a 240-lb canine juggernaut embodying a 1000x leverage trading mentality. For traders exhausted by XRP’s slow grind against the $1.40 resistance, this presale offers a high-variance alternative built for the current volatility. However, early-stage tokens carry inherent risks; dynamic APY staking provides an incentive for holding, but market timing remains critical.
The post XRP Price Prediction: SEC Clarity Meets Fed and Oil Shock as We Watch 1.40 appeared first on Cryptonews.
Crypto fear index slumps as investors dump XRP, SOL and AAVE, rotate into cash and stables, and test whether extreme fear sets up the next recovery leg.
Summary
- Crypto Fear & Greed Index falls to 8, locking in one of the deepest “extreme fear” readings of this cycle as traders dump risk across majors like XRP, SOL and DeFi plays such as AAVE.
- Total crypto market cap holds around $2.36 trillion even as investors aggressively de‑risk and rotate out of high‑beta altcoins into cash and stablecoins.
- Analysts warn that “extreme fear grips the market,” but note that structurally, such levels have historically preceded major recovery phases in both Bitcoin and large altcoins.
Crypto investors woke up to a sharply darker mood as the Crypto Fear & Greed Index fell to 32, cementing the market’s return to “extreme fear” territory after weeks of mounting macro and geopolitical pressure. The single‑digit reading underscores how quickly sentiment has flipped from cautious optimism to outright risk aversion, even though the total cryptocurrency market capitalization still hovers near $2.36 trillion.
According to data provider Alternative.me, a score of 8 sits at the bottom of the index’s 0–100 range and signals that “investors are extremely worried” about near‑term downside. A flash note from CoinEx described the latest move bluntly: “Crypto Fear & Greed Index drops to 8, extreme fear grips the market,” highlighting that selling has been broad‑based across spot and derivatives venues, with names like XRP and SOL now firmly in correction territory.
Despite the collapse in sentiment, several trackers show aggregate market cap holding or even rising slightly, with some estimates pointing to roughly $2.36 trillion in total crypto value after a modest 2–3% 24‑hour gain. As one March market recap put it, “the total cryptocurrency market capitalization has actually increased by about +2.87% in the last 24 hours, reaching approximately $2.36 trillion,” suggesting that fear and flows are no longer perfectly aligned.
Within that headline number, however, rotation has been brutal under the surface. Large‑cap altcoins such as XRP (XRP) and SOL (SOL) have seen outsized intraday swings as traders shed beta, while DeFi bellwether AAVE (AAVE) has become a high‑conviction short for some funds concerned about leverage and protocol risk. Milk Road’s composite sentiment gauge echoes that bifurcation: the market has spent roughly 62% of the past eight years in “fear” or “extreme fear,” yet major assets have still trended structurally higher over that period. “The boilerplate interpretation,” the site notes, is simple – “be greedy when others are fearful, and be fearful when others are greedy.”
The latest plunge to 8 extends what some analysts describe as one of the longest “fear streaks” since at least 2019, with social metrics now matching the kind of stress last seen during mid‑2022 liquidations. In an early‑March note titled “The Heartbeat of the Crypto Market,” one strategist wrote that escalating conflict and the effective closure of key oil chokepoints have pushed investors into “capital preservation mode,” driving the index down from 22 to low‑teens readings in a matter of days.
For traders, the key question is whether this 8 print marks a capitulation low or just another step down in a longer deleveraging cycle that continues to pressure altcoins and DeFi names like AAVE. While history offers no guarantees, previous extreme fear clusters have often coincided with discounted entry points for long‑term capital — a dynamic that some institutional desks are already watching closely as they weigh when to step back into XRP, SOL and the broader market.
Crypto World
Stablecoin yield in crypto Clarity Act won’t allow rewards on balances, latest text says
Crypto industry insiders got their first look at the revised market structure bill in the Senate, and the opening impression was that the language on allowable stablecoin yield was overly narrow and unclear, according to a person familiar with the current draft.
The new language, which was announced Friday by Senators Angela Alsobrooks and Thom Tillis, would ban yield payments for simply holding a stablecoin. It would also restrict any approach that makes the program in any way equivalent to a bank deposit, and it applies further limits to other potentially allowed activities, the person said, adding that the mechanics of determining activities-based stablecoin rewards is left uncertain.
The crypto industry got this first look at the revised section of the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act on Monday in a closed-door review on Capitol Hill in Washington, representing an attempt to clear a roadblock in the effort to get a hearing in the Senate Banking Committee. Bankers had insisted that stablecoin rewards look nothing like interest-bearing bank deposits, because they argued the competing product could hamstring the industry and strangle lending. So, the compromise will allow rewards programs on users’ stablecoin activities but not balances.
A similar version of the Clarity Act passed in the House of Representatives last year, and another version cleared a markup hearing in the Senate Agriculture Committee. The banking panel represents a big step that would get the legislation to a place where lawmakers could prepare a final, combined version that would get a vote of the overall Senate.
The stablecoin yield lobbying fight between the crypto sector and the banking industry had stifled progress on the legislation for a while. But it’s not the only sticking point. The industry will still need to see the final approach to oversight of the decentralized finance (DeFi) space, which had remained an area of concern for Democrats who had wanted to ensure illicit finance protections. And the Democrats have also insisted on a need for a ban on senior government officials profiting personally from the crypto industry — a provision aimed squarely at President Donald Trump.
Though the industry recorded a tremendous win last year when the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act became the first major U.S. law to govern a segment of the crypto industry, it was meant as the less important first step of a one-two policy approach that concludes with the Clarity Act.
That full-fledged arrival of crypto into the U.S. financial system will eliminate regulatory uncertainty for any investors who have been hesitant about involvement in the sector. Digital assets insiders believe it will open flood gates among institutional investors and developers who want to build atop the technology.
TLDR
- Aave DAO approved the Request for Comment proposal to begin discussions on deploying Aave V4 on Ethereum mainnet.
- The governance vote closed after four days with 100% support from participating members.
- The ARFC marks the first non-binding stage before a formal onchain Aave Improvement Proposal vote.
- Aave V4 introduces a modular Hub and Spoke architecture to unify liquidity and isolate risk.
- The Liquidity Hub will consolidate supplied assets while Spokes will set individual lending and collateral rules.
Aave DAO has approved a Request for Comment proposal to start discussions on deploying Aave V4 on Ethereum mainnet. The vote closed after four days with 100% support on Aave’s governance platform. The measure now moves the protocol closer to a binding onchain proposal and eventual rollout this year.
Aave DAO Backs Initial Governance Stage for V4
Aave DAO used its governance platform to pass the non-binding Aave Request for Comment proposal. The vote recorded full support after a four-day voting period. As a result, the process now advances to the next governance phase.
The ARFC serves as the first step in Aave’s decentralized governance framework. It allows contributors and token holders to refine technical and risk details before a binding vote. After community feedback, Aave Labs will submit an Aave Improvement Proposal for onchain approval.
Aave Labs, led by Stani Kulechov, will coordinate the next submission. The team will work with security and risk advisors to define final risk parameters. The snapshot proposal states that deployment preparations will continue during this review period.
Aave V4 Introduces Modular Hub and Spoke Architecture
Aave V4 represents the next major upgrade of the onchain lending protocol. The upgrade introduces a modular Hub and Spoke architecture to improve liquidity efficiency. The design aims to unify liquidity while isolating risk profiles.
According to official documentation, the Liquidity Hub will consolidate supplied assets into a single unified pool. Individual Spokes will connect to the Hub under distinct lending rules and collateral policies. Each Spoke will define its own risk parameters and user conditions.
The new structure addresses the issue of siloed liquidity within the protocol. It also allows markets to operate under separate risk frameworks while sharing liquidity depth. The snapshot proposal states, “Liquidity depth is maximized, risk is priced with precision, and a wider range of lending activity can be supported onchain.”
The documentation also confirms deeper integration of Aave’s native GHO stablecoin within V4. The upgrade will introduce a revamped liquidation engine to improve efficiency. Together, these changes aim to expand supported market structures within one framework.
Governance Changes and Security Review Shape Deployment
The governance move follows internal changes among core contributors. BGD Labs and Aave Chan Initiative announced plans to step back when their contracts expire. Their announcements followed Kulechov’s “Aave Will Win” proposal on governance restructuring.
Kulechov’s proposal calls for greater DAO control over Aave Labs’ revenue and intellectual property. In exchange, the DAO would manage a defined budget for operations and development. The proposal also urges stakeholders to prioritize Aave V4 deployment.
Kulechov has also called for streamlined governance procedures within the protocol. He has encouraged faster coordination between contributors and token holders. These proposals remain under discussion within the community.
Aave V4 has completed roughly 345 days of cumulative security review. The process included manual audits, formal verification, invariant testing, fuzzing, and a public security contest. The DAO ratified a $1.5 million security budget to support these efforts.
The largest Ethereum treasury company added another 65,341 ETH last week.
Bitmine Immersion Technologies, the publicly traded company pursuing what it calls the ‘Alchemy of 5%’ of Ethereum’s total supply, said its combined crypto and cash holdings have reached $11 billion as it ramps up purchases amid the U.S.-Iran conflict.
Chairman Thomas Lee framed ETH’s recent performance as evidence of crypto’s resilience during geopolitical turmoil. He noted that ETH has risen 18% since the Iran war commenced, outperforming equities, while gold, a traditional safe-haven asset, has fallen by more than 15%.
“Crypto is demonstrating itself to be a good ‘wartime’ store of value,” Lee said in the company’s weekly update.
As of March 22, Bitmine held 4,660,903 ETH, representing 3.86% of ETH’s total circulating supply of 120.7 million. The company said it acquired 65,341 ETH in the past week, an uptick from its prior weekly pace of 45,000–50,000 tokens.
Lee said the acceleration reflects his view that ETH is in the “final stages of the ‘mini-crypto winter.’”
Bitmine launched its Ethereum treasury strategy in late June 2025, when the former Bitcoin miner raised $250 million in a private placement backed by Founders Fund, Pantera, Galaxy Digital, and others — sending its stock up nearly 700%. By August, the firm had surpassed $6.6 billion in ETH holdings, becoming the world’s largest corporate Ethereum holder. It crossed the 2% supply threshold by September.
The company now claims the second-largest overall crypto treasury, behind Strategy Inc., which holds 761,068 BTC valued at roughly $52 billion.
Bitmine also holds 196 BTC, a $200 million stake in Beast Industries, a $95 million position in Eightco Holdings (ORBS), and $1.1 billion in cash.
Lee also pointed to momentum around the CLARITY Act, the crypto market structure bill that passed the House in July 2025 with bipartisan support. He cited Polymarket odds showing a 68% probability the legislation will be signed into law before year-end, calling it a “positive fundamental catalyst for Ethereum.”
The bill’s progress through the Senate has been slower, with stablecoin yield provisions emerging as the central sticking point between banks and crypto firms. President Trump has publicly pressured the banking industry over the dispute.
This article was written with the assistance of AI workflows. All our stories are curated, edited and fact-checked by a human.
TLDR:
- Silver dropped from $121.64 to $65 in 53 days, with 25% of the loss coming after Jane Street’s filing went public.
- Jane Street increased its SLV holdings by 500x in Q4 2025, quietly becoming the ETF’s largest shareholder ahead of the crash.
- SEBI fined Jane Street a record $570M for running a stock-buying scheme in India to profit from larger short options positions.
- No US regulator has demanded Jane Street’s full derivatives exposure in silver for January 29 and 30, the crash dates.
Silver has lost nearly 50% of its value in just 53 days, dropping from an all-time high of $121.64 to around $65. The sharp decline has drawn attention to Jane Street, a high-frequency trading firm with a documented history of controversial trading practices.
Analysts and market observers are now questioning the firm’s role in the crash, given its massive, undisclosed position in the silver ETF, SLV.
Jane Street’s Hidden Stake in SLV
In Q4 2025, Jane Street quietly accumulated 20.67 million shares of SLV, the world’s most liquid silver ETF. That figure is up from just 41,100 shares the quarter before — a 500x increase.
The position, valued at approximately $1.3 billion, made Jane Street the largest SLV holder, ahead of BlackRock and Morgan Stanley.
This stake was not publicly known while silver was rallying toward its January 29 peak. On January 30, silver collapsed 30% within 30 hours.
That was the worst precious metals crash since 1980. The CME raised margin requirements mid-crash, triggering further cascading liquidations.
The 13F filing revealing Jane Street’s position only became public on February 25. After that disclosure, silver dropped an additional 25%.
As Bull Theory posted on social media, “Silver hit ATH $121.64 on January 29, 2026. Today it sits at $65, a 46% collapse, and 25% of that drop happened AFTER February 25, 2026.”
A Pattern Documented in India and Crypto
Jane Street’s trading practices have already attracted regulatory scrutiny in two other markets. India’s SEBI issued a 105-page order against the firm, resulting in the largest fine in the regulator’s history. SEBI impounded $570 million from Jane Street after finding market manipulation across 18 expiry days.
In those sessions, Jane Street bought large amounts of index stocks in the morning to push prices higher. At the same time, it built short options positions 7.3 times larger than its stock exposure.
By afternoon, it offloaded the stocks, the index fell, and the options paid out. On one day, the firm reportedly lost $7.5 million on stocks while making $89 million on options.
In the crypto market, the bankruptcy administrator for Terraform Labs filed an 83-page federal lawsuit against Jane Street.
The lawsuit alleged the firm used non-public information to avoid over $200 million in losses tied to the $40 billion Terra/LUNA collapse. Blockchain forensics reportedly traced key wallet activity back to Jane Street through Coinbase records.
The Question No Regulator Has Asked
A 13F filing only discloses long equity positions. It does not show short positions, options exposure, or full derivatives books. That gap means Jane Street’s net silver position on January 29 and 30 remains unknown.
The physical silver backing SLV is held by JPMorgan. In 2020, JPMorgan paid $920 million to resolve CFTC charges related to eight years of precious metals market manipulation. That remains the largest CFTC sanction on record.
No US regulator has publicly demanded a full accounting of Jane Street’s complete silver derivatives exposure around the time of the crash.
As Bull Theory noted online, “If the India playbook was running in silver, the $1.3B ETF stake was just the cost. The options position on the other side was the profit.”
None of this has been proven in US courts, though the documented regulatory history raises questions that remain unanswered.
Strategy is increasingly turning to perpetual preferred stocks to fund its Bitcoin strategy, with the company adding 90,000 BTC to its balance sheet so far this year.
Michael Saylor’s Strategy has announced several capital-raising programs totaling $44.1 billion to fund Bitcoin purchases, including the sale of common shares and two of its dividend-paying equity vehicles.
Strategy plans to raise up to $21 billion by selling Strategy (MSTR) stock and another $21 billion from its high-yield perpetual preferred stock, Stretch (STRC), via new at-the-market programs, the company said in an 8-K filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday.
Strategy also intends to sell up to $2.1 billion worth of Strike (STRK) — another of its perpetual preferred stock offerings. The company didn’t specify a timeline for the issuances, stating that shares may be sold “from time to time.”
Strategy has been marketing its securities as a way for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin, which is currently down nearly 70% from its all-time high. The company is currently carrying an unrealized loss of 6.3% on its Bitcoin holdings.
Strategy’s revised ATM equity program enables it to sell more shares incrementally into the open market rather than relying on fewer large-scale capital raises from external investors, as it previously did through convertible debt.
Related: Bitcoin spot volumes fall to 2023 lows as BTC rallies remain news-led
Strategy’s preferred stocks, such as STRC and STRK, give investors monthly dividends while enabling Strategy to grow its Bitcoin holdings without issuing additional MSTR common shares.
Strategy added 90K BTC to its treasury in 3 months
Strategy said it bought 1,031 Bitcoin worth $76.6 million in its latest purchase on Monday, adding to its larger-than-usual purchases this month, which include 17,994 Bitcoin on March 9 and 22,337 Bitcoin on March 16 for a combined $2.9 billion.
Strategy now holds 762,099 Bitcoin worth $54 billion, having added nearly 90,000 Bitcoin to its treasury across the first three months of 2026.
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