BlackRock Signal Further Downside for Bitcoin And Ethereum As It Moves $170M to Coinbase

BlackRock has moved millions of dollars of BTC and ETH to Coinbase Prime. This has raised speculations about the purpose of the transfer, especially with the current market trend.

Is BlackRock Dumping BTC and ETH?

According to data, the asset manager made about $170 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum transfers to Coinbase Prime. This comes as the BTC price continues its downtrend amid the bearish sentiment in the market.

Experts have speculated whether this was for a sale or for further purchases. It was also noted that its ETF funds saw some inflows yesterday, which meant some were used to buy more BTC and Ethereum. However, this is not the first time BlackRock has moved funds through Coinbase, with most transactions usually tied to sell-offs.

Last month, CoinGape reported a series of transfers between the asset manager and Coinbase. Late in January, the firm moved $600 million in both tokens to the exchange. Notably, on the following day, the funds saw a combined outflow of $142 million. This explains the fears among crypto investors.

Also, BlackRock is not the only institution making large transfers. Gamestop Holdings recently moved all of its Bitcoin assets to Coinbase. This was worth around $450 million which is down by around $70 million from its initial purchase price. CEO of the firm, Ryan Cohen, has hinted that the firm is looking to diversify its investment vehicle, hence the transfer.

Bitcoin ETFs AUM Falls Below $100B as Outflows Continue

According to SoSoValue data, the total assets under management for BTC ETFs have fallen to around $97  billion. This is a new low for the metric as outflows for asset managers like BlackRock continue to increase daily.

This is the first time the spot Bitcoin ETF AUM has fallen below the $100 billion mark since April 2025. It had gotten to a peak of approximately $168 billion in October. The new outflows come just after the BTC funds recorded $561 million in new inflows from asset managers.

The continuous selling of the ETFs comes at a time when the price of BTC is trading below the cost of creation of the ETFs, which stands at around $84,000. According to experts, the recent drop in the price of the coin would probably not cause further selling of the ETFs.

Meanwhile, in other developments, BlackRock is looking to expand its offering after filing for a Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. The firm aims to launch the new fund on Nasdaq.