BlackRock Withdraws ~$150M BTC and ETH from Coinbase, Shifts to Accumulation
BlackRock reversed recent net selling and moved to accumulate Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH) after withdrawing roughly $150 million of crypto from Coinbase within 24 hours. On-chain trackers (The Data Nerd, Lookonchain, Arkham Intelligence) reported transfers of BTC and ETH into addresses tied to BlackRock’s IBIT and ETHA ETF custody. Reported flows include thousands of BTC and tens of thousands of ETH moved in batched transfers, with evidence pointing to Coinbase Prime as a likely source. Arkham now estimates BlackRock’s crypto holdings at roughly $53.5 billion, concentrated in BTC and ETH. Earlier in February the firm executed large sell-offs (about $292M on Feb. 6 and $257M a week later) before reversing with recent buys. The withdrawals coincided with higher trading volumes and short-term price moves: BTC and ETH experienced intraday declines and rebounds (BTC fell from recent highs before pulling back; ETH showed similar volatility). Traders should note that ETF-linked, clustered on-chain accumulation can produce short-term rallies and elevated volatility around institutional flows; profit-taking after spikes is common, so expect possible quick retracements following large institutional deposits.
Bullish
The net effect is likely bullish for BTC and ETH price action in the short to medium term because institutional accumulation into ETF custody increases buy-side demand and signals renewed positioning by a major asset manager. The on-chain evidence of clustered, ETF-related deposits suggests planned inflows rather than random transfers, which can trigger short-term rallies as traders front-run or respond to growing ETF demand. That said, the pattern also carries elevated volatility: previous heavy sell-offs by BlackRock earlier in the month show the firm can exert downward pressure when reallocating, and profit-taking often follows spikes. Therefore expect immediate upward pressure from buying interest and improved market sentiment, accompanied by short, sharp retracements as traders lock gains. Over the longer term, sustained accumulation by ETFs would be bullish, but intermittent selling or rebalancing by large holders could produce episodic pullbacks.