BlackRock Now Owns 1.5% of All ETH — Institutional Demand for Ethereum Soars

BlackRock, the world's largest asset management company, has added $158.6 million in Ethereum (ETH) to its reserves. This move raises the total amount of Ethereum they hold to around $4.45 billion, accounting for approximately 1.5% of the total ETH in circulation.

Although analysts are concerned about Ethereum's slowing price, this accumulation phase is far from quiet.

BlackRock Purchases $158 Million in Ethereum.

This latest move occurs against the backdrop of a strong institutional accumulation trend. Over the past two months, BlackRock has purchased $1.5 billion in ETH.

"BlackRock just bought $158.6 million in ETH. Whales are accumulating," wrote CryptoGoos.

This follows the Ethereum ETF inflows on Wednesday, with BlackRock's ETHA leading, according to Farside Investors.

This asset management company accounts for over 75% of the total $211.3 million in inflows. Fidelity's FETH ranks second with $29.5 million, followed by Grayscale's ETH with $18 million.

Ethereum spot ETFs have had eight consecutive weeks of positive inflows, totaling over 61,000 ETH.

In just the past 30 days, institutions, led by BlackRock, SharpLink Gaming, and Bit Digital, have purchased $830 million in ETH.

BeInCrypto has reported a notable change, with Bit Digital selling all its Bitcoin to transition to Ethereum, now holding $254.8 million in ETH.

Meanwhile, SharpLink has become the first publicly traded company to accept Ethereum as a treasury asset. They hold 176,271 ETH, valued at over $490 million at the current rate of $2,790.

On-chain analysts confirm a strong increase in whale wallet activity and coordinated purchase transactions across large wallets.

Among them is Merlijn The Trader, a famous analyst on X, who pointed out similarities with the 2016-2017 cycle.

"Ethereum is creating an exactly similar pattern... Accumulation → fake-out → explosion. That move ended with a 10x increase. This time we have BlackRock and billions ready. Ignoring ETH now is not just wrong but reckless," he wrote.

Ethereum Faces Reality Between Increasing Interest and Stalled Momentum

However, despite institutional optimism and increasing ETF inflows, Ethereum's price action remains relatively subdued.

BeInCrypto has reported that Ethereum's trading volume recently surpassed Bitcoin for the first time, indicating growing interest. However, this has raised concerns about the sustainability of the current price increase.

Ethereum has struggled to reclaim the $3,000 mark, with some analysts pointing out that a broader Bitcoin sell-off could slow Ethereum's momentum.

However, the long-term setup continues to support Ethereum. Beyond data accumulation, the ecosystem's development remains strong.

Most stablecoins are still issued on Ethereum's ERC-20 standard. Similarly, new efforts like the Ethereum Foundation pushing to regain community trust could inspire further Ethereum growth.

With increasing ETH ETF attraction, rising institutional allocation, and whale leadership, Ethereum may be quietly preparing for the next explosion.

At the time of writing, Ethereum is trading at $2,787, up over 6% in the past 24 hours.