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

BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has added $158.6 million of Ethereum (ETH) to its reserves. The move brings its total Ethereum holdings to an estimated $4.45 billion, approximately 1.5% of all ETH in circulation.

While analysts are concerned about Ethereum price lagging, the accumulation phase is anything but quiet.

BlackRock Acquires $158 Million in Ethereum.

This latest move comes amid a broader trend of aggressive institutional accumulation. Over the last two months, BlackRock has purchased $1.5 billion in ETH alone.

“BlackRock just bought $158.6 million worth of ETH. Whales are loading up,” wrote CryptoGoos.

It follows Ethereum ETF (exchange-traded fund) inflows on Wednesday, where BlackRock’s ETHA led, according to Farside Investors.

The asset manager accounted for over 75% of the $211.3 million inflows. Fidelity’s FETH was the distant second with $29.5 million, followed by Grayscale’s ETH at $18 million.

Ethereum spot ETFs have now posted 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 bought $830 million in ETH.

BeInCrypto reported the notable shift, where Bit Digital dumped its Bitcoin holdings entirely in favor of Ethereum, now holding $254.8 million in ETH.

Meanwhile, SharpLink has become the first publicly traded company to adopt Ethereum as a treasury asset. It holds 176,271 ETH, worth more than $490 million at the current rate of $2,790.

On-chain analysts confirm a strong uptick in whale wallet activity and coordinated buys across large wallets.

Among them is Merlijn The Trader, a popular analyst on X, who highlighted similarities with the 2016–2017 cycle.

“Ethereum is printing the exact same pattern… Accumulation → fakeout → launch. That move ended in a 10x. This time we’ve got BlackRock and billions lined up. Fading ETH here isn’t just wrong—it’s reckless,” he wrote.

Ethereum Price Action Comparison. Source: Merlijn The Trader on X

Ethereum Faces a Reality Check Amid Rising Interest and Stalled Momentum

However, despite the institutional bullishness and growing ETF inflows, Ethereum’s price action has remained relatively subdued.

BeInCrypto reported that Ethereum’s trading volume recently surpassed Bitcoin’s for the first time, signaling rising interest. However, this raised concerns about the sustainability of the current rally.

Ethereum’s price has struggled to reclaim $3,000, with some analysts pointing to the risk of a broader Bitcoin sell-off stalling Ethereum’s upside.

Still, the long-term setup continues to favor Ethereum. Beyond the accumulation of data, ecosystem growth remains strong.

Most stablecoins continue to be issued on Ethereum’s ERC-20 standard. Similarly, new efforts like the Ethereum Foundation pushing to regain community confidence could inspire further upside for Ethereum.

With ETH ETFs gaining traction, institutional allocations rising, and whales leading the charge, Ethereum may be building quietly toward its next breakout.

Ethereum (ETH) Price Performance. Source: BeInCrypto

As of this writing, Ethereum was trading for $2,787, up by over 6% in the last 24 hours.