BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, has quietly deepened its bet on Bitcoin (BTC), adding approximately $416 million worth of the cryptocurrency on July 16.
According to on-chain data reviewed by Finbold, BlackRock’s total Bitcoin holdings surged from 694,100 BTC ($75.23B) on July 1 to 716,490 BTC ($84.34B) as of July 17. That’s an increase of 22,390 BTC, representing a 3.23% increase in holdings and a 12.11% jump in valuation over just 16 days.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $117,710, up 8.61% during the same period, suggesting that BlackRock not only capitalized on price momentum but also actively accumulated into strength, contrary to typical institutional “buy-the-dip” narratives.
A dominant BTC whale
BlackRock now holds $85.47 billion in Bitcoin, representing roughly 3.6% of the current circulating supply of 19.89 million BTC, cementing its position as one of the most influential Bitcoin whales in the world, with holdings outpacing most sovereign wealth funds and crypto-native treasuries.
The surge in holdings comes amid renewed institutional interest following geopolitical tensions, central bank rate stability, and the persistent demand for crypto ETFs, sectors where BlackRock remains a dominant player.
Not just Bitcoin: ETH and more
While Bitcoin took centre stage in BlackRock’s accumulation strategy, it wasn’t the only asset to see fresh inflows. The firm’s Ethereum (ETH) holdings jumped 17%, from 1.73 million ETH to 2.02 million ETH, adding over $2.5 billion in value.
BlackRock’s latest purchase being $499.2 million ETH on July 16, with holdings now at $6.94 billion.
With the asset manager showing growing confidence in Ethereum’s Layer 2 and DeFi infrastructure as the blockchain gears up for its next scalability phase.
BlackRock also made minor entries into micro-cap tokens like MOG and IMAGE, as well as increased its SPX exposure by nearly 19.4%, reflecting a broader strategy to diversify across correlated assets and memecoins with virality traction.
Overall, BlackRock’s on-chain portfolio expanded over $12 billion between July 1 and July 17, 2025, rising from $79.55 billion to above $91 billion in just over two weeks.
