BTCC / BTCC Square / Newsbtc /
BlackRock’s Half-Billion Bitcoin Dump Ignites Market Sell-Off - Here’s What You Need to Know

BlackRock’s Half-Billion Bitcoin Dump Ignites Market Sell-Off - Here’s What You Need to Know

Author:
Newsbtc
Published:
2025-08-23 13:00:10
8
2

BlackRock just rocked crypto markets with a massive $500 million Bitcoin liquidation—triggering panic selling across exchanges.

The Whale Move That Shook Crypto

Institutional giant BlackRock executed a half-billion dollar sell order, sending Bitcoin's price into a tailspin within minutes. The move demonstrates how traditional finance players still hold devastating power over digital asset markets—even after years of 'decentralization' rhetoric.

Market Impact and Reactions

Traders scrambled to offload positions as BTC dipped nearly 8% following the announcement. The sell-off rippled through altcoins, wiping out gains from the previous week's rally. Meanwhile, Wall Street analysts shrugged—because when you're playing with pension fund money, half a billion is just another Tuesday.

Why This Matters Beyond the Red Candles

BlackRock's move reveals institutional crypto trading remains as coordinated—and potentially manipulative—as traditional markets. The dump came with precision timing, maximizing impact while retail traders slept. Classic finance playbook: pump your bags, then dump when mom-and-pop investors least expect it.

Where Bitcoin Goes From Here

Market structure tests continue as BTC finds new support levels. This volatility isn't a bug—it's a feature of an asset class still finding its footing against traditional market giants. Remember: every institutional sell-off creates buying opportunities for those who understand crypto's long-term trajectory.

BlackRock Dumps Around $500 Million In Bitcoin

Arkham data shows that BlackRock has offloaded around $500 million in bitcoin this week, with transfers to Coinbase, a move that indicates a move to sell these coins. The asset manager has sold these coins following outflows from its iShares Bitcoin ETF, which was the norm throughout this week.

SoSo Value data shows that BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF first recorded a daily net outflow of $68.72 million on August 18. The fund then further saw net outflows of $220 million, $127.49 million, and $198.81 million on August 20, 21, and 22, respectively. Notably, the iShares Bitcoin ETF has accounted for most of the outflows, with the BTC ETFs as a group currently on a six-day streak of consecutive net outflows. 

These Bitcoin ETFs have seen total net outflows of almost $1.2 billion since August 15. Meanwhile, in just this week alone, over $1.1 billion has left these funds, sparking a bearish sentiment for the BTC price. Given BlackRock’s position as a major player in the Bitcoin ecosystem, outflows from its fund had sparked a wave of sell-offs. This led to a massive decline for the flagship crypto earlier in the week. 

The Bitcoin price had dropped to as low as $112,000 this week as BlackRock and other BTC investors took profit on their investments. This followed the flagship crypto’s rally to a new all-time high (ATH) of $124,000 last week. However, BTC has now sharply rebounded on the back of Jerome Powell’s Jackson Hole speech, in which he indicated that a rate cut might happen in September. 

An End To The BTC ETF Outflow Streak

Notably, Powell’s speech was enough to spark fresh inflows into the Bitcoin ETFs on August 22, with BlackRock the only fund manager that recorded a net outflow on the day. Further data from SoSo Value shows that Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest recorded a daily inflow of $65.47 million, the most among the issuers on the day. 

Meanwhile, Fidelity, Van Eck, Franklin Templeton, Bitwise, and Grayscale recorded inflows of $50.88 million, $26.41 million, $13.51 million, $12.70 million, and $6.42 million, respectively. However, BlackRock recorded an outflow of $198.81 million, which led to a daily net outflow of $23.15 million for the funds as a group. With the bitcoin price rebounding, these funds, including BlackRock’s IBIT, could return to witnessing significant daily inflows from next week.

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price is trading at around $115,900, up over 2% in the last 24 hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap.

Bitcoin

|Square

Get the BTCC app to start your crypto journey

Get started today Scan to join our 100M+ users