--- title: "Wells Fargo increased its Bitcoin holdings in Q1; Tom Lee: Ethereum supply continues to deflate." type: "News" locale: "en" url: "https://longbridge.com/en/news/286646067.md" description: "Wells Fargo increased its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF holdings in Q1, despite a net outflow from Ethereum ETFs. The bank's investments in Bitcoin ETFs rose significantly, while it reduced its Galaxy Digital shares by 97%. Meanwhile, Tom Lee noted Ethereum's supply has been deflating, supported by treasury buying and staking. Additionally, four wallets withdrew 89,026 ETH from exchanges, and the Ethereum Foundation redeemed 21,271 ETH from Lido. Bitmine aims to hold 5% of Ethereum's supply by 2026, with plans for significant staking rewards." datetime: "2026-05-16T13:03:24.000Z" locales: - [zh-CN](https://longbridge.com/zh-CN/news/286646067.md) - [en](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286646067.md) - [zh-HK](https://longbridge.com/zh-HK/news/286646067.md) --- # Wells Fargo increased its Bitcoin holdings in Q1; Tom Lee: Ethereum supply continues to deflate. ## Bitcoin **Wells Fargo Increases Holdings in Bitcoin, Ethereum ETFs, and Strategy Stocks in Q1** On May 13, Wells Fargo disclosed its holdings in crypto ETFs to the U.S. SEC. In the first quarter, the bank increased its holdings in Ethereum ETFs, with its share in BlackRock's ETHA increasing by 63.5%, from 672,600 units to 1.1 million units; and its share in ETHW increasing by 37%, from 186,800 units to 257,000 units. Despite a net outflow of approximately $769 million from Ethereum spot ETFs in the first quarter and a 29% drop in the price of ETH, Wells Fargo still held approximately $21.5 million in Ethereum ETFs, of which $17.6 million were BlackRock products. Regarding Bitcoin ETFs, the bank's investments in the Bitwise Bitcoin ETF and Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust increased by approximately 24% and 41%, respectively. BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust remains the largest holder, with approximately $250 million. Wells Fargo also significantly adjusted its crypto-related stock holdings: reducing its Galaxy Digital holdings by 97%, from 2.5 million shares to 78,600 shares; while increasing its Strategy holdings by 125%, from 322,700 shares to approximately 726,000 shares. Upbit will launch Superform (UP2) trading on May 13th, and will support KRW, BTC, and USDT markets on May 14th at 20:30. Users can begin depositing funds within 1 hour and 30 minutes of the announcement. Bitcoin mining company IREN will raise $2 billion through a convertible note offering. IREN Limited, a Bitcoin mining and AI computing infrastructure company, announced plans to privately issue convertible senior notes due in 2033 to accredited institutional investors under Rule 144A, aiming to raise $2 billion, with the potential for an additional $300 million. Under the terms, IREN can redeem the notes early after June 2030 upon fulfillment of certain share price conditions; in the event of a “material change,” investors can require the company to repurchase the bonds at principal plus accrued interest. **Strategy's Bitcoin holdings currently show a floating profit of $4.54 billion, while Bitmine's Ethereum holdings currently show a floating loss of $6.297 billion** On May 11th, according to on-chain analyst Ember's monitoring, Bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR) purchased 535 BTC ($43 million) last week at approximately $80,340. They now hold a total of 818,869 BTC ($66.398 billion), with an average cost of $75,540, resulting in a floating profit of $4.54 billion (+7.3%). Ethereum treasury company Bitmine (BMNR) purchased 26,659 ETH ($62.14 million) last week at approximately $2,331. They currently hold a total of 5,206,790 ETH ($12.132 billion), with an average cost of $3,539, resulting in a paper loss of $6.297 billion (-34.1%). Additionally, 90% of their ETH (4.713 million) is staked on Ethereum. Michael Saylor again released Bitcoin Tracker information, and may disclose increased holdings next week. On May 9th, Strategy founder Michael Saylor again released information related to Bitcoin Tracker. Based on previous patterns, Strategy always discloses information about increased Bitcoin holdings the day after the initial announcement. Ethereum Tom Lee: Ethereum Supply Has Been in Deflation for the Past Year, Crypto Treasury Buying and Staking Reinforce the Trend On May 12, Fundstrat co-founder and BitMine chairman Tom Lee stated on the X platform that Ethereum's supply has been in a state of "deflation" for the past year, and the buying and staking by Ethereum crypto treasuries has further amplified this trend. **Four Wallets Withdrew a Total of 89,026 ETH from FalconX and Kraken, Worth Approximately $197.85 Million** On May 16, according to Onchain Lens monitoring, four wallets withdrew a total of 89,026 ETH from FalconX and Kraken, worth approximately $197.85 million. The Ethereum Foundation redeemed 21,271 ETH from Lido, worth approximately $49.66 million. According to Onchain Lens monitoring on May 11th, the Ethereum Foundation redeemed 21,271 ETH from the Lido stETH withdrawal contract, worth approximately $49.66 million. Bitmine plans to hold 5% of the Ethereum supply by the end of 2026. On May 12th, Bitmine Chairman Tom Lee stated that Bitmine purchased 26,659 ETH last week, a slower pace than the previous weekly purchases of over 100,000 ETH, but still plans to hold 5% of the circulating Ethereum supply by the end of 2026. Currently, the company has over 4.7 million Ethereum staked, with estimated annual rewards of approximately $352 million after full staking. Tom Lee believes that if Ethereum's closing price is above $2,100 by the end of May, it will confirm the arrival of the "crypto spring." Arkham: Ethereum Foundation's Large-Scale ETH Unstaking May Not Cause Short-Term Selling Pressure. On May 12th, the Ethereum Foundation unstaking 21,271 ETH from Lido, triggering market panic. Arkham analyzed this, stating that the Foundation's move may stem from concerns about the security of third-party protocols. Furthermore, the recent multiple ETH sales indicate a need for treasury rebalancing within the Foundation, which generally does not trigger an immediate sell-off. ## Other Projects **Interactive Brokers Launches Unified Prediction Market Trading Service** Brokerage giant Interactive Brokers announced the launch of a unified prediction market trading service, integrating Kalshi, CME Group, and ForecastEx. This allows users to trade multiple prediction market contracts within a single platform and interface, and manage assets such as stocks, options, forex, futures, cryptocurrencies, and bonds in a unified manner. The platform supports real-time viewing of liquidity, prices, and fees across exchanges, and provides unified portfolio management, real-time position tracking, and centralized reporting. It is currently open to eligible clients, and Kalshi and CME related contracts will be launched in phases. CME Group to Launch AI-Powered Computing Power Futures Market On May 12th, market news reported that the CME Group will launch an AI-powered computing power futures market. The CME Group has partnered with data and analytics company Silicon Data to launch the first computing power futures. On May 13th, it was announced that Japan is launching EJPY, a trust-based yen stablecoin, to be issued on the Japan Open Chain—an Ethereum-compatible public L1 chain operated by 14 corporate validators, including Dentsu, NTT Communications, and SBINFT. This stablecoin targets B2B settlements, digital asset payments, remittances, and Web3 use cases, aiming to generate real-world on-chain demand. The issuance is scheduled for sometime in 2026. This is a structural step towards a programmable yen in institutional processes, leveraging Japan's regulatory leniency towards trust structures. The vague timeline and the pace of the corporate alliance keep expectations moderate—more infrastructure than an immediate catalyst. **Stablecoin yield protocol Osero raises $13.5 million in funding** Stablecoin yield infrastructure project Osero announced the completion of a $13.5 million funding round, led by Sky Ecosystem and co-led by stablecoin Layer 1 project Plasma. Other participants included RedStone, Kairos Research, Joe Flanagan, and Lorenzo Romagnoli. The report states that the funding round was conducted using a SAFT (Simple Agreement for Future Tokens) structure, but the valuation was not disclosed. Osero, incubated by Stablewatch, aims to promote the adoption of the Sky ecosystem stablecoin USDS (formerly DAI) and the yield-generating stablecoin sUSDS, and help users directly access the Sky Savings Rate (SSR) yield system. Arkham: Ethereum Foundation's Large-Scale ETH Unstaking May Not Cause Short-Term Selling Pressure. On May 12th, the Ethereum Foundation unstaking 21,271 ETH from Lido, triggering market panic. Arkham published an analysis suggesting that the Foundation's move may stem from concerns about the security of third-party protocols. Furthermore, the recent multiple ETH sales indicate a need for treasury rebalancing within the Foundation, which generally does not trigger an immediate sell-off. Circle's public blockchain Arc raises $222 million in token funding, with participation from BlackRock, NYSE parent company, and others. On May 11th, Circle Internet Group raised $222 million through a pre-sale of the native token for its new blockchain, Arc, valuing the network at $3 billion after full dilution. Andreessen Horowitz led the round with $75 million, with participation from over ten institutions including BlackRock, Apollo Funds, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), Standard Chartered Ventures, ARK Invest, and Bullish. Arc is a public blockchain designed for institutional finance. Circle CEO Jeremy Allaire stated that the company is transforming from a stablecoin issuer into a broader internet platform company, venturing into operating system and application businesses. Regarding token allocation, Circle holds 25% of the initial 10 billion tokens, with 60% allocated to network builders and participants, and 15% held as a long-term reserve. Circle also released a toolkit to help developers build AI agents, supporting transactions and payments using USDC. This is the first publicly traded company to conduct a token pre-sale, and Allaire stated that all companies will eventually be tokenized. On May 11th, Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter, reported that Digital Asset Holdings LLC, the developer of Canton Network, is raising approximately $300 million at a valuation of $2 billion, with a16z crypto leading the round. The round is expected to close in the coming weeks. Because the fundraising is still under internal confidential negotiation, the sources requested anonymity, stating that the round is expected to close in the coming weeks, and the final fundraising amount is still subject to change. Canton Network is a public blockchain that allows users to retain some of their information's privacy and is positioned for mainstream financial transactions. Digital Asset previously completed a $135 million funding round in June 2025, led by DRW Venture Capital and Tradeweb Markets; in December of the same year, it raised another $50 million from institutions including Bank of New York Mellon, Nasdaq, and S&P Global. ### Related Stocks - [WFC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC.US.md) - [GBTC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GBTC.US.md) - [CETH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/CETH.US.md) - [ETH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ETH.US.md) - [QETH.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/QETH.US.md) - [BTCHKD.VAHK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCHKD.VAHK.md) - [BTCUSD.VAHK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTCUSD.VAHK.md) - [ETHHKD.VAHK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ETHHKD.VAHK.md) - [ETHUSD.VAHK](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/ETHUSD.VAHK.md) - [BLK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BLK.US.md) - [BITB.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BITB.US.md) - [BTC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTC.US.md) - [IBIT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IBIT.US.md) - [GLXY.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/GLXY.US.md) - [BRPHF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BRPHF.US.md) - [MSTR.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/MSTR.US.md) - [IREN.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/IREN.US.md) - [WFC-D.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-D.US.md) - [WFC-L.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-L.US.md) - [WFC-Y.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-Y.US.md) - [WFC-C.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-C.US.md) - [WFC-Z.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-Z.US.md) - [WFC-A.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/WFC-A.US.md) - [BTX.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BTX.US.md) - [BIT.RT*.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BIT.RT*.US.md) - [BDJ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BDJ.US.md) - [BSTZ.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BSTZ.US.md) - [BIT.RT.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/BIT.RT.US.md) - [STRF.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRF.US.md) - [STRC.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRC.US.md) - [STRK.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRK.US.md) - [STRD.US](https://longbridge.com/en/quote/STRD.US.md) ## Related News & Research - ['The Entire Economy Is Going To Be Tokenized,' Consensys CEO Joseph Lubin Says, Positioning Ethereum As The Winner](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286265353.md) - [Wells Fargo Asset Cap Lift Opens New Chapter For Loan Growth](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286301680.md) - [Ethereum Community Debates Changes To Staking Model As ETH Remains Stuck Below $2,300](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286153164.md) - [Syscoin to Participate in Fintech Trujillo Summit on May 22nd–24th](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286673665.md) - [Wells Fargo & Company Non Cum Perp Conv Pfd Registered Shs A Series L declares $18.75 dividend](https://longbridge.com/en/news/286563632.md)