BlackRock Moves $48.6 Million in Major Ethereum Sell Attempt

BlackRock has stirred discussions across the crypto community after making a massive Ethereum deposit on Monday, October 20th.

According to data shared by on-chain analytics platform Lookonchain, BlackRock has transferred 1,200 Ethereum, worth a massive $48.6 million, into the leading U.S. crypto exchange.

The data source shared a transaction history revealing that the transfer took place in four separate transactions of 3,000 ETH each.

The move, which is rarely seen at a time when the crypto market is experiencing a major price rebound, has sparked curiosities among market watchers. While some suggest the transaction was a cautious move, others suggest BlackRock is looking to take profits amid the sharp price pump.

Is BlackRock taking profit?

Notably, the transfers were made from BlackRock’s EETH Ethereum ETF wallet, signaling a potential sell-off attempt.

Although this is not the first time the asset management firm has made large transfers involving leading cryptocurrencies, the latest transfer has caught the attention of investors considering its nature.

Just two days ago, BlackRock moved 1,500 BTC, worth about $160 million, in five separate transfers from its IBIT Bitcoin ETF wallet. The move suggests strategic institutional redistribution.

Amid the growing market buzz, the leading crypto fund has yet to clarify speculations surrounding its latest crypto transfers. Thus, market watchers believe that such large-scale transfers to exchanges are key indicators of potential sell-offs and possibly an attempt to take profit.

Nonetheless, some commentators pointed out that Coinbase Prime serves as the firm’s crypto custodian, meaning the transfers might not signal a sell-off but instead reflect operational or compliance-related reallocation, possibly to meet ETF liquidity requirements.

Ethereum reclaims $4,000

The major Ethereum deposit has come at a time when the market is showing signs of recovery after multiple days of severe price bloodbaths.

After falling as low as $3,400 in the previous days, Ethereum is back hovering around the $4,000 mark. While it is showing a decent price gain of 1.46%, data from CoinMarketCap shows that it is trading at $3,961 as of press time.

While the leading cryptocurrency appears to be slowing down on its rapid price gains, the sell-off attempt by BlackRock has triggered more concerns in the Ethereum community.