Amid the persisting sell-offs faced by the broad crypto market, BlackRock has also joined the trend.
In a move that has sparked reactions from the crypto community, data from on-chain tracking platform LookOnChain has revealed BlackRock’s sale of large portions of its Bitcoin and Ethereum holdings.
According to the data, BlackRock has collectively moved over $366 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum from its exchange-traded funds to a wallet on Coinbase Prime. The move, which is uncommon for the investment giant, happened on August 20 as the crypto market bloodbath continues.
While BlackRock has yet to clear speculations regarding the major transaction today, a leading crypto fund was spotted moving 1,885 BTC worth about $111.66 million and 59,606 ETH worth $254.43 million to the leading crypto trading platform, Coinbase Prime.
Did BlackRock just sell?
The investment giant, which is renowned for consistently recording daily streaks of inflows, has broken the trend today with a massive amount of outflows recorded in both of its ETF products.
Although the nature of the major transaction was not clearly stated, such large-scale transfers to exchanges have often been interpreted as potential sell-offs.
As such, it appears that BlackRock may be taking profits amid recent market volatility, as the market has continued to record massive price declines led by Bitcoin and Ethereum.
Nonetheless, the transaction has fueled speculation among traders about whether this signals the start of a broader institutional offloading of crypto holdings, as BlackRock is renowned as a leader in crypto institutional engagements.
While the major move was executed at a time when investors have seen their crypto bets suffer notable losses, market participants are watching closely to see whether this sell activity could trigger further downside pressure on BTC and ETH prices.
Oftentimes, large institutional transfers of this size have had noticeable short-term market impacts on the performance of the cryptocurrency involved; however, they can also be part of broader strategic redistribution of the portfolio rather than an attempt to exit the market.
Nonetheless, the prices of BTC and ETH have continued to decrease after the major transaction was noticed, sparking curiosity among investors if there was still hope for a broader market rebound.