BlackRock Signals $257M Bitcoin and Ethereum Sell-Off Ahead of Partial U.S. Government Shutdown

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, looks set to offload more Bitcoin and Ethereum, following the outflows from its crypto ETFs yesterday. This move comes ahead of another potential partial U.S. government shutdown that could begin tomorrow as today’s deadline looms.

BlackRock Moves $257M In BTC And ETH To Coinbase

Arkham data shows that the asset manager transferred 3,402 BTC, worth $227 million, and 15,108 ETH, worth $29.5 million, to Coinbase, likely in a bid to offload these coins. This move follows yesterday’s outflows from its IBIT and ETHA funds.

SoSoValue data shows that BlackRock’s Bitcoin and Ethereum ETFs saw outflows of $157.56 million and $29 million, respectively. The outflows align with the broader trend as the BTC and ETH ETFs as a group saw daily net outflows on February 12.

As CoinGape reported earlier, the BTC ETFs recorded a net outflow of $410 million amid an institutional sell-off, while the ETH ETFs saw $113 million in net outflows. This comes as the crypto market continues its downtrend, with on-chain analytics firm Glassnode highlighting the weakness in Bitcoin’s price action.

These institutional investors in BlackRock’s funds and other crypto ETFs aren’t the only ones offloading these holdings amid this downtrend. Bhutan’s Government has notably trimmed its BTC holdings over the last few weeks. Since the October 10 crypto crash, Bhutan has trimmed its BTC holdings by almost 60%.

Meanwhile, amid this sell-off, Wall Street Standard Chartered has predicted that Bitcoin could still face more “pain.” As CoinGape reported, Standard Chartered predicted that BTC could fall to $50,000 before a recovery. They have also slashed their year-end target from $150,000 to $100,000.

Another Partial Government Shutdown Imminent

Another partial U.S. government shutdown is likely to begin tomorrow amid BlackRock’s Bitcoin and Ethereum sell-off as Congress failed to reach a deal ahead of today’s deadline. The imminent partial shutdown poses a risk to the crypto market, given how crypto prices reacted during the last shutdown, which ended less than two weeks ago.

Bitcoin had begun its crash from above $80,000 just as the last partial shutdown began on January 31. Since then, the leading crypto has dropped to as low as $60,000 and has failed to recover above the $80,000 pyschological level.

In addition to the shutdown and institutional sell-off from BlackRock’s IBIT and other crypto ETF investors, the market could face volatility with the U.S. CPI set to drop today. Wall Street experts predict a soft inflation reading. However, a hotter-than-expected reading could serve as another catalyst for lower prices.