Blackrock Deposits $124m In BTC And ETH To Coinbase

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 $BTC (approximately $98.16M) and 11,475 $ETH (approximately $26.27M), with the data suggesting further significant deposits could follow throughout the trading day.

A Routine Operation With Large Numbers

The scale of the move drew immediate attention from market participants, though such transfers are not unusual for the world's largest asset manager. BlackRock operates both the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA), both of which use Coinbase as their custodian. 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.

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. 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.

Part of a Broader Institutional Pattern

The May 8 transfer is the latest in a series of large movements BlackRock has made through Coinbase Prime in 2026. 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. 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.

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. The platform has become a central node in BlackRock's operational infrastructure for both its Bitcoin and Ethereum ETF products.

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.

Sources:
CoinCu: BlackRock Deposits 26K ETH, 226 BTC to Coinbase Prime
BlackRock: iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) Official Product Page
CoinCentral: BlackRock Shifts $49M of BTC and ETH into Coinbase Prime Custody