Strange things continue to happen on the cryptocurrency market, and with each new twist in this roller coaster ride, it seems that nothing else of this magnitude can happen to surprise market participants. But here we are.

As reported by Lookonchain, BlackRock, a $10 trillion financial mastodon and issuer of one of the most successful ETFs in history, the Bitcoin-focused IBIT to be exact, has just dumped an astounding 3,296 BTC, which is equivalent to about $254 million, on Coinbase, the leading cryptocurrency exchange in the U.S.

Is it worth saying that such a move was perceived by market participants as a very bearish and worrying sign?

There is logic behind this fear, even though the two rarely go together. The thing is that in the common sense of crypto market participants, large shifts to centralized platforms are seen as an intention to sell by a large holder.

It is probably not, but it still seems that since the launch of Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, we have not seen such a move on behalf of BlackRock.

Given the current conjecture and the mess the U.S. economy is in right now, it is not even the fact that a quarter of a billion dollars in Bitcoin might hit the order book on Coinbase, but the fact that it is BlackRock behind it.

Of course, it is not that the fund itself is getting rid of its cryptocurrency holdings, but rather that the ongoing outflows from IBIT are forcing the sale of the underlying asset. As of now, BlackRock still holds 572,074 BTC, equivalent to about $44.89 billion.