As revealed by Lookonchain, BlackRock just moved a lot of Bitcoin — 4,113 BTC, worth about $429 million — to Coinbase Prime earlier today, breaking a buying streak that had lasted for over a month.
The transactions were not hidden or small. Most of the transactions were sent in exact chunks of 300 BTC, which suggests this was a planned move rather than something accidental. And the destination matters — Coinbase Prime is known as a platform used by institutions when they are preparing to sell or rebalance, not just for moving funds around.
So far, BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) has been on a buying spree, with money coming in every day through May. But that changed just before this move — on May 30, IBIT recorded a sharp outflow of over $430 million in a single day, the biggest one-day drop the fund has seen.
That number lines up closely with today's Bitcoin transfer, giving a clearer sense that this was not random timing.
Bitcoin's price has also dropped a bit in the last few days, falling from recent highs above $112,000 to around $104,000 today. The crash is not huge, but it is enough to get people's attention, especially with BlackRock's recent moves.
BlackRock still has a huge stake — more than $69 billion in assets and over 3% of all Bitcoin in circulation — so it does not seem like they are planning to exit, but it is the first time in weeks they have taken a step toward the selling side.
It is not clear if this is just a short-term profit move or the start of a shift in strategy, but either way, the biggest player on the market just moved a lot of Bitcoin, and the direction is not very bullish.
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team