BlackRock-managed crypto products saw more than $3.6 billion in net outflows between Friday, February 6, and Monday, February 9,
As a result, the fund’s total crypto holdings have gone from $63.34 billion to $59.71 billion, judging by real-time wallet tracking data accessible on Arkham Intel.
The movements reflect ETF-related custody flows rather than direct proprietary trading activity by BlackRock.
Unsurprisingly, most of the outflows were concentrated in Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), which saw $3.39 billion and $238.98 million in withdrawals, respectively.
As crypto prices have been on a general negative trend, it’s also worth noting that while BlackRock’s actual holdings have indeed fallen (it lost 8,060 BTC and 32,930 ETH), Bitcoin and Ethereum prices have also dropped 2.39% and 4.69% over the same period, contributing to the overall change in net assets.
BlackRock crypto outflows
So far this month, BlackRock is $14.46 billion in the red, having lost $12.16 billion in Bitcoin and $2.3 billion in Ethereum. However, it’s again important to note the outflows don’t equate to realized losses or immediate market selling. Namely, among institutional holders, such moves often reflect investor reallocations, redemptions, or liquidity management rather than spot sales of the underlying assets.
Most recently, BlackRock deposited 2,268 BTC, worth nearly $156 million, and 45,324 ETH, valued at almost $92 million, to Coinbase Prime on February 9. This was the asset manager’s first crypto move recorded this week, and it was executed within minutes.
Last week, BlackRock saw outflows of approximately $115.14 million in BTC and $152.16 million worth of ETH, thus accounting for roughly one third of all redemptions posted by U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs, based on available spot ETF redemption figures.
Although the movements may appear aggressive, the outflows are largely typical institutional redemptions rather than discretionary selling by BlackRock itself.
Nonetheless, the withdrawals are still notable as they have coincided with heightened volatility across digital assets, with Bitcoin briefly testing key support near $60,000 and Ethereum slipping toward $2,000 over the weekend.
Featured image via Shutterstock
Source: https://finbold.com/blackrock-linked-crypto-wallets-see-3-6-billion-in-outflows-in-three-days/
