BlackRock Moves Bitcoin and Ethereum, Stirring Sell-Off Fears Ahead of $2.2B Options Expiry

The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, transferred Bitcoin and Ethereum into Coinbase today, following the outflows that the BTC and ETH ETFs recorded on December 31. This development also comes amid the expiry of $2.2 billion crypto options today, which also has the market on edge.

BlackRock Deposits Bitcoin and Ethereum To Coinbase Amid Options Expiry

Arkham data shows the asset manager transferred 1,134 BTC ($101 million) and 7,255 ETH ($22 million) to Coinbase, likely to offload these coins. This follows the outflows from the Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs on December 31.

SoSoValue data shows that the Bitcoin ETFs recorded a daily net outflow of $348.10 million on the last day of last year, while the Ethereum ETFs saw a daily net outflow of $72.06 million. BlackRock’s BTC and ETH ETFs in particular saw outflows of $99.05 million and $21.5 million, respectively.

The outflows from these funds continue to add significant selling pressure on Bitcoin and Ethereum. The BTC ETFs have recorded daily net outflows in eight out of the last nine trading days. Similarly, the ETH ETFs have seen outflows in five out of the last six trading days.

A recent CryptoQuant analysis warned that sustained outflows from BlackRock’s fund and other ETFs could push Bitcoin below the psychological $90,000 level. It also mentioned that a drop below this level could make a move toward the $50,000 range a possibility.

Meanwhile, it is worth noting that BlackRock’s BTC and ETH transfers come amid the expiry of crypto options today. As CoinGape reported, $2.2 billion in Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana options expire today, with the max pain point for the BTC options at $88,000.

Still No Renewed Institutional Demand For BTC

On-chain analytics platform Glassnode noted in an X post that the ETF flows still show no renewed demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum. The firm further stated that the 30-day SMA of netflows for both the BTC and ETFs remains negative.

However, a positive for Bitcoin and the broader crypto market is that BTC long-term holders have stopped selling even as BlackRock and other issuers continue to see outflows from their crypto ETFs. Amid this development, the flagship crypto is again looking to reclaim the psychological $90,000 level.

BTC has surged to an intraday high above $89,600 from an intraday low of around $88,300. The total crypto market cap is also up on the day, rising above $3 trillion, with coins like PEPE posting significant gains.