Journalist
Hassan Shittu
Journalist
Hassan Shittu
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The world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, stunned the cryptocurrency market this week by snapping up more than $1 billion worth of Bitcoin and Ethereum for its exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in a single day, right in the middle of one of the sharpest market pullbacks of the summer.
On August 14, just hours after hotter-than-expected U.S. Producer Price Index (PPI) data sent crypto prices tumbling, BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) executed one of their largest-ever daily accumulation moves.
BlackRock’s Crypto Holdings Hit $100B After Aggressive ETFs Buys
According to Arkham, the firm bought 4,428 BTC worth approximately $526 million for its spot Bitcoin ETF and 105,900 ETH worth roughly $488 million for its Ethereum ETF, bringing the total daily purchase to more than $1 billion.
The aggressive buying spree came after the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the Producer Price Index (PPI) for July rose 0.9%, well above economists’ forecasts of 0.2%, marking the sharpest year-over-year increase since February 2025.
As a result, Bitcoin had slipped from its fresh all-time high above $123,700 to $119,098, while Ethereum plunged from $4,765 to as low as $4,452 before recovering above $4,640.
The hotter-than-expected inflation data triggered a wave of risk-asset selling, wiping $133 billion off total crypto market capitalization in 24 hours and causing over $1 billion in leveraged positions to be liquidated across 221,000 traders.
For many observers, the timing was telling. “BlackRock went all in on BTC and ETH yesterday,” said trader Bitbull. “This shows that big money wants some dip so they can accumulate more. I hope you didn’t sell your coins to BlackRock.”
Despite the sell-off, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs pulled in $230.93 million in net inflows on August 14, led almost entirely by BlackRock’s IBIT with $523.74 million.
However, it was Ethereum that stole the spotlight; spot ETH ETFs recorded $639.61 million in inflows, with ETHA alone bringing in $519.68 million. Fidelity’s Ethereum Fund (FETH) followed with nearly $57 million.
These figures cap what has been one of the strongest months on record for ETH ETFs. In the first two weeks of August alone, they have attracted more than $3 billion in net inflows, with a single-day record of $1.02 billion earlier this week.
Since launch, U.S. spot ETH ETFs have pulled in $12.73 billion, with cumulative net assets across the sector now at a record $29.22 billion.
BlackRock’s crypto holdings now total around $100 billion, including $90.36 billion in Bitcoin and $15.07 billion in Ethereum, making it by far the largest institutional holder of both assets. IBIT alone has grown to $91.06 billion in assets under management, representing 3.72% of the total Bitcoin supply.
Macro Signals, On-Chain Data Drive $1B Institutional Crypto ETF Buys
The buying spree has fueled speculation about what BlackRock and fellow heavyweight Fidelity, who also added $55 million worth of ETH on the same day, might be seeing in the months ahead.
Analysts point to a confluence of macroeconomic and market-structure factors. With U.S. inflation cooling in recent months and the Federal Reserve’s September rate cut odds hovering above 90%, liquidity conditions could improve sharply heading into the fourth quarter.
For institutions, that’s often the signal to “pre-position” via the most liquid and regulated investment wrappers, spot ETFs.
On-chain signals also align with this playbook. Bitcoin’s short-term holder Spent Output Profit Ratio (SOPR) has hovered near 1.0, a level historically associated with loss-taking exhaustion and the resumption of upward trends.
The Crypto Fear and Greed Index shifted dramatically to extreme fear levels before coming back to 59 neutral today.
For Ethereum, network health indicators, such as active address growth, staking deposits, and stablecoin flows, have been ticking up quietly in recent weeks.
“This looks less like retail ‘buy-the-dip’ and more like data-driven institutional conviction,” one analyst said. “BlackRock’s models are designed to buy value on weakness when macro liquidity is set to improve. That’s exactly what we’re seeing now.”
Perhaps the most striking takeaway from August’s flows is Ethereum’s clear lead over Bitcoin. While BTC ETFs have been net positive, ETH ETFs have been posting bigger daily prints and more consistent streaks, even in the face of market turbulence.
Some strategists see this as a “catch-up trade.” After underperforming Bitcoin for much of 2024, ETH now benefits from a maturing ETF market, reduced regulatory overhang, and narratives around staking yield and tokenization of real-world assets.
The macro backdrop may be a key part of the story. Odds of a Federal Reserve interest rate cut in September now sit above 90% following softer consumer inflation data earlier this month and signs of cooling in the labor market.
Lower rates tend to benefit risk assets, particularly those sensitive to liquidity conditions, and institutions often prefer to pre-position before policy shifts rather than chase rallies afterward.
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