In a notable transaction today, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, transferred significant amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase. This move comes in the wake of notable outflows from both BTC and ETH exchange-traded funds (ETFs) recorded on December 31, further intensifying market speculation.
Data from Arkham revealed that BlackRock transferred 1,134 Bitcoin, valued at approximately $101 million, and 7,255 Ethereum, worth around $22 million, to Coinbase. Industry analysts suggest this action may indicate a strategy to offload these assets amidst ongoing pressures from outflows affecting Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs. On the last day of the previous year, Bitcoin ETFs experienced a substantial net outflow of $348.1 million while Ethereum ETFs witnessed $72.06 million in outflows. Specifically, BlackRock’s own BTC and ETH ETFs registered outflows of $99.05 million and $21.5 million, respectively.
These outflows from major funds have contributed to significant selling pressure within the cryptocurrency market. Reports indicate that Bitcoin ETFs have experienced daily net outflows for eight of the last nine trading days, while Ethereum ETFs have similarly seen outflows in five out of six recent trading sessions. A recent analysis from CryptoQuant warned that if these outflows persist, it could potentially push Bitcoin below the psychologically significant $90,000 threshold. A drop below that level may pave the way for Bitcoin to approach the $50,000 range.
Adding to the tension is the expiry of $2.2 billion in crypto options today, which includes options for Bitcoin, Ethereum, XRP, and Solana. This expiry is particularly crucial given that the maximum pain point for Bitcoin options stands at $88,000.
On the demand side, on-chain analytics firm Glassnode highlighted in a recent X post that there has been no notable resurgence in institutional demand for Bitcoin and Ethereum. Their findings indicate that the 30-day simple moving average (SMA) of net flows for both BTC and ETH ETFs remains in negative territory.
Conversely, a silver lining for the crypto market is emerging as long-term Bitcoin holders have halted selling activities in response to the inflows and outflows from crypto ETFs. Despite the challenges, Bitcoin is working to regain the critical $90,000 mark, having surged to an intraday high exceeding $89,600 after an earlier low of around $88,300. Overall, the total cryptocurrency market capitalization has also ticked upwards, surpassing $3 trillion, buoyed by notable gains in various altcoins, including PEPE.
