Bitcoin’s and Ethereum’s prices maintained their status quo on Thursday as investors analyzed new on-chain data indicating that the renowned investment firm, BlackRock Inc., moved vast funds to its principal custodian facility.
However, new analysis has shown that the large transfers, which initially sparked concern about liquidity, are in fact only a minor technical adjustment.
Routine Custody Controls Mitigate BlackRock ETFs Sell-Off Fears
The digital asset market remains on high alert following over a dozen transfers from the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA). On-chain monitoring by Arkham Intelligence tracked 3,970 BTC, valued at $357 million, and 82,813 ETH, worth $247 million, moving to Coinbase Prime.
These transactions coincided with a period of broader volatility, including a $356.6 million outflow from IBIT on January 21, as total crypto ETF redemptions reached nearly $1 billion.
Fear of a sustained BlackRock ETFs sell-off was alleviated when 1,800 BTC was promptly returned to IBIT’s vaults. Market analysts noted that such rotations are characteristic of standard custody rebalancing and settlement cycles between the issuer and its exchange partner.
Furthermore, as of midday today, the Bitcoin price has been fluctuating around $89,500, again testing its $90,000 resistance level as anticipated.
Bitcoin’s Store-of-Value Case Holds
Despite all this technical volatility, institutional sentiment continues to advance this asset class. Notably, BlackRock has noted that Ethereum has a 65% share of tokenized assets, cementing its position as the foundation of financial infrastructure in the next decade.
Notably, this asset class also benefited from comments by high-profile individuals suggesting capital was being moved from gold into bitcoin.
This transition positions the digital asset as a brand-new store of value, providing a psychological floor for prices despite ETFs facing net outflows.
Although fears of BlackRock ETFs selling off dominated the early stages of the session, the investment thesis remains intact, based on the tokenization concept that effectively caps selling pressure in the current consolidation phase.
READ MORE: Crypto Rally Today: Why are Bitcoin and Altcoins Going Up? (Jan. 22)
