BlackRock Signals More Selling as $291M in BTC, ETH Hit Coinbase Amid $2.5B Crypto Options Expiry

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has again transferred more Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase, suggesting further sell-offs. This follows yesterday’s outflows from its crypto ETFs, as BTC recorded its largest daily decline, dropping to as low as $60,000.

BlackRock Moves $291 Million In Bitcoin and Ethereum To Coinbase

Arkham data shows that the crypto ETF issuer transferred 4,248 BTC and 5,734 ETH to Coinbase, likely to offload these coins. Notably, the asset manager’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs had recorded net outflows yesterday as the crypto market crashed.

According to SoSoValue data, BlackRock’s BTC and ETH ETFs saw outflows of $175.33 million and $8.52 million, respectively. This came as the crypto market crash deepened, with Bitcoin and Ethereum dropping to new yearly lows of $60,000 and $1,900, respectively.

The flagship crypto dropped over $10,000 from an intraday high of $72,000, marking its largest-ever daily decline. Market commentator The Kobeissi Letter noted that not even the record $19.5 billion liquidation on October 10 came close to BTC’s drop today, adding that it appears a large investor was liquidated.

As CoinGape reported, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) saw a record daily volume of $10 billion, representing a 169% increase from the previous record on November 21. Meanwhile, the IBIT’s price fell 13%, which was the second-worst daily drop since the fund launched in 2024.

BlackRock’s BTC and ETH deposit into Coinbase comes just as $2.5 billion in crypto options expire on Deribit. According to Deribit, the max pain point for the BTC options is at $82,000, while the max pain point for the ETH options is at $2,550. This could also spark market volatility as the market looks to rebound from yesterday’s crash.

CryptoQuant Founder Addresses Speculations Of Massive Sales From Institutions

Commenting on the possibility that institutional investors are largely responsible for the sell pressure on Bitcoin, CryptoQuant founder Ki Young Ju noted that it is hard to see institutions unloading this much supply at once unless they have no choice.

He further noted that the scary part of such Bitcoin sales is that they tend to cascade. This is because miners could go bankrupt, while retail investors who have held for long may have to sell to cut their losses if institutional funds that invest in BlackRock’s IBIT and other crypto ETFs suffer liquidation and the BTC price falls.

Ki Young Ju warned that if there is no meaningful rebound at these levels within the next month, the risk of structural, cascading institutional selling rises significantly. He added that once these institutions capitulate at the bottom, they are unlikely to return and that rebuilding trust would take a long time.