On Wednesday, November 5th, investment giant BlackRock offloaded some of its Ethereum holdings as the broad crypto market remained in deep red territory.
According to data provided by on-chain tracking platform Whale Insider, BlackRock transferred a massive 34,777 ETH worth over $114.97 million into Coinbase, a leading U.S. crypto exchange.
The transaction has stirred discussions across the crypto community, fueling doubts as holders are increasingly selling off their assets.
The data further shows that BlackRock made the massive Ethereum deposits in four separate identical transactions, which were completed within minutes. Notably, the transfers were made to Coinbase Prime a few minutes ago, signaling a major sell-off attempt.
Although the move comes as no major surprise considering the timing of the transaction, when the crypto market is experiencing a major price correction, it has prompted discussions about the motive behind the sell-off.
BlackRock joins panic sellers?
While the nature and timing of the transfer have sparked curiosity among market watchers, speculators have suggested that BlackRock has lost confidence in ETH’s future prospects and has deposited the tokens as a cautionary move.
Apart from BlackRock’s latest Ethereum deposit, the market has seen whales increasingly dump large amounts of Ethereum tokens, as it appears that bulls are already exiting the market.
While increased liquidity has been seen flowing into supported exchanges, market confidence has weakened, and retail traders are increasingly panic-selling amid efforts to hedge against further losses.
Ethereum on the verge of losing 2025 gains
The major Ethereum deposit has come at a time when the market is facing severe price correction amid multiple days of heavy losses.
Holders have been spotted increasingly dumping their assets, and BlackRock appears to have joined the trend. Amid the persisting price correction, Ethereum is at risk of losing all its 2025 gains, as it is showing only a YTD return of 1.39%.
While the leading cryptocurrency has nearly lost all its YTD gains, the sell-off attempt by BlackRock has fueled more concerns in the Ethereum community.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team