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Prime

BlackRock

Arkham

<p>BlackRock has moved a combined $124 million in Bitcoin and Ethereum to Coinbase custody desks, according to on-chain alerts reported by Arkham Intel. The transfer comprised 1,224 <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24BTC&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$BTC</a> (approximately $98.16M) and 11,475 <a href="https://x.com/search?q=%24ETH&amp;src=cashtag_click" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">$ETH</a> (approximately $26.27M), with the data suggesting further significant deposits could follow throughout the trading day.</p>
<h2 id="a-routine-operation-with-large-numbers">A Routine Operation With Large Numbers</h2>
<p>The scale of the move drew immediate attention from market participants, though such transfers are not unusual for the world's largest asset manager. <cite>BlackRock operates both the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), both of which use Coinbase as their custodian.</cite><cite>A deposit to Coinbase Prime does not automatically mean the assets are being sold, as Coinbase Prime functions as both a custody solution and a trading venue for institutional clients.</cite></p>
<p><cite>The assets may have been transferred for custody rebalancing between cold and warm wallets, or positioned for potential execution, whether for ETF share creation, redemption, or portfolio adjustment.</cite><cite>Spot crypto ETFs periodically need to adjust holdings based on fund flows, and moving assets to the prime broker is a standard step in that process. Without an official statement from BlackRock, the specific intent behind the deposit remains unconfirmed.</cite></p>
<h2 id="part-of-a-broader-institutional-pattern">Part of a Broader Institutional Pattern</h2>
<p>The May 8 transfer is the latest in a series of large movements BlackRock has made through Coinbase Prime in 2026. <cite>Earlier this year, BlackRock had already moved considerable amounts of BTC and ETH through Coinbase Prime, with a previous transfer in March seeing the firm shift 634 BTC and 11,780 ETH, totaling over $70 million.</cite><cite>Through Q1 2026, IBIT ended the quarter with approximately $55 billion in assets under management, holding more than 800,000 Bitcoin, and recorded net inflows on 48 of 62 trading days, capturing an estimated $8.4 billion in net inflows for the period.</cite></p>
<p><cite>Coinbase Prime is a full-service prime broker of Coinbase, Inc., which is an affiliate of the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF custodian, with $245 billion in institutional assets under custody as of June 30, 2025.</cite> The platform has become a central node in BlackRock's operational infrastructure for both its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF products.</p>
<p>As on-chain analytics tools make these flows increasingly visible in real time, large institutional transfers of this kind are likely to remain a closely watched indicator for traders and analysts seeking clues about near-term ETF activity.</p>
<p><strong>Sources:</strong><br><a href="https://coincu.com/blackrock-deposits-26000-eth-226-btc-coinbase-prime/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CoinCu: BlackRock Deposits 26K ETH, 226 BTC to Coinbase Prime</a><br><a href="https://www.blackrock.com/us/individual/products/333011/ishares-bitcoin-trust-etf" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">BlackRock: iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) Official Product Page</a><br><a href="https://coincentral.com/blackrock-shifts-49m-of-btc-and-eth-into-coinbase-prime-custody/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">CoinCentral: BlackRock Shifts $49M of BTC and ETH into Coinbase Prime Custody</a></p>

Blackrock Deposits $124m In BTC And ETH To Coinbase

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