BlackRock Deposits $446M Worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase

BlackRock has deposited nearly half a billion dollars’ worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum tokens to Coinbase Prime through its ETF products.

On-chain data captured by Arkham Intelligence confirmed the recent fund movements, which occurred over 11 minutes a few hours back. Specifically, the asset manager began with the movement of Ethereum tokens through its iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA).

BlackRock Moves $446M in BTC and ETH to Coinbase

Data indicates that ETHA first transferred 3,158 ETH tokens to Coinbase Prime at 10:38 UTC today. Interestingly, over the course of the next few minutes, it transferred nine batches of 10,000 ETH each worth over $39 million to Coinbase, with the last transaction occurring at 10:46 UTC.

Following the recent Bitcoin movements, the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF currently holds 802,591 BTC tokens valued at a whopping $89.19 billion, as it remains one of the largest Bitcoin holders nearly two years after its launch. 

Essentially, BlackRock’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs transferred $446.02 million worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase Prime within minutes. Expectedly, the transactions have triggered discussions within the crypto community, as proponents discuss the possible implications.

BlackRock Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs See Mixed Flows

Notably, the Ethereum transactions come as the BlackRock Ethereum ETF witnesses massive outflows amid the ongoing market uncertainty. Data from Sosovalue indicates that Ethereum ETFs saw $428.52 million in outflows yesterday, with BlackRock’s product accounting for $310.13 million.

In contrast, the Bitcoin movements come on the back of inflows recorded by the BlackRock Bitcoin ETF. Specifically, while the Bitcoin ETF market experienced outflows of $326.52 million yesterday, BlackRock’s IBIT bucked the trend, recording inflows of $60.36 million.

While most market commentators have suggested that BlackRock ETFs often move tokens to Coinbase Prime for selloffs when the products see outflows, historical context indicates that this is not always the case.

Notably, with Coinbase acting as the custodian for BlackRock’s ETFs, such deposits indicate routine ETF operations. Though these operations could translate to redemptions, which lead to selloffs, they could also just involve managing liquidity. Essentially, the ETHA movements likely led to sales, while the IBIT transactions involved other routine operations.