BlackRock's $1 Billion Crypto Buying Spree: A Record-Breaking 48-Hour Stretch

BlackRock's recent crypto buying spree has sent shockwaves through the market. Over two days, the financial giant scooped up a whopping 11,098 Bitcoin and 132,769 Ethereum worth approximately $1 billion.

The purchases were made through BlackRock's spot ETF products, specifically the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and iShares Ethereum Trust ETF (ETHA). This means that investors buying shares of these funds triggered the purchase of underlying assets to back those shares.

BlackRock has been actively involved in ETF operations throughout 2026. In July, IBIT reported $183 million in inflows from client purchases of Bitcoin exposure. On the Ethereum side, in June 2026, BlackRock sold 3,671 BTC worth approximately $230 million while purchasing 10,566 ETH valued at around $17.7 million as part of a rebalancing strategy tied to ETF redemption and creation flows.

The on-chain trail reveals that BlackRock's custodial addresses have been moving assets to Coinbase Prime, the institutional custodial arm of Coinbase. This is routine for large on-chain movements between BlackRock-tagged wallets and Coinbase Prime addresses.