BlackRock’s $70 Billion Bitcoin ETF Flex: 1,633 BTC Just Hit Coinbase Prime
Wall Street's crypto pivot just got a whole lot more tangible. A major institutional player has executed a significant on-chain transfer, moving a hefty stack of Bitcoin to a premier exchange platform.
Institutional Moves, Real-World Impact
This isn't just a test transaction. The movement of 1,633 Bitcoin represents a strategic deployment of capital from a fund that's already shattered expectations, crossing the $70 billion threshold in assets under management. It signals a shift from passive holding to active market engagement.
The Prime Pipeline Opens
Routing this volume through Coinbase Prime is a tell. It's the preferred gateway for heavyweight investors seeking liquidity and execution. This move suggests preparation—for everything from rebalancing to meeting potential redemptions, or simply capitalizing on market structure.
A New Era of Liquidity
Forget the old days of wild retail swings. This is about professional-grade flows. When giants move assets, they don't just trade; they reshape the liquidity landscape, often leaving traditional finance scrambling to explain the velocity of capital into this 'niche' asset class. It's almost as if the smart money found a vault that Wall Street forgot to lock.
The message is clear: the infrastructure is live, the capital is allocated, and the game is on. The only question left is who follows next.
IBIT ETF Surpasses $70 Billion in Assets Under Management
BlackRock’s IBIT fund continues to break industry records. Launched in January 2024, it became the fastest-growing ETF in history, reaching $70 billion in assets in just 341 days. The product now holds over 3% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply, making it one of the largest institutional holders of the asset.
The fund has also generated an estimated $245 million in annual fees, outperforming BlackRock’s flagship S&P 500 ETF on revenue, despite being smaller in total assets. This success is attributed to IBIT’s 0.25% annual fee, which is higher than most traditional index funds, resulting in stronger returns for the firm.
IBIT recorded over $1.8 billion in trading volume within the first two hours of trading on Monday. However, by the end of the session, it posted $66 million in net withdrawals, contrasting with net inflows recorded by competing ETFs from Fidelity and ARK Invest.
Institutional Support for IBIT Expands
IBIT’s performance has attracted major institutional players, including Harvard University, whose endowment fund held $443 million in IBIT shares as of September 30, 2025. That investment represented more than 20% of Harvard’s U.S. equity portfolio.
Harvard’s move is notable, as university endowments typically avoid ETFs in favor of private equity or real estate. The increase in IBIT holdings signals a shift toward publicly traded crypto exposure among traditional institutions.
BlackRock itself also increased its exposure. The firm’s Strategic Income Opportunities Portfolio raised its IBIT position by 14%, signaling internal confidence in long-term growth for the product.
BlackRock Touts Tokenization as Next Market Infrastructure Shift
Beyond ETFs, BlackRock executives have expressed support for blockchain innovation.
CEO Larry Fink and COO Rob Goldstein wrote in The Economist that tokenization could mark the next major evolution in global financial systems.
They stated that blockchain-based settlement could offer faster, more secure asset transfers, replacing legacy systems. The firm sees digital infrastructure as a foundational part of future markets.
