A brand new report from NYDIG has dissected one of many largest single ETF block trades ever recorded — a $1.26 billion off-exchange sale of BlackRock’s IBIT shares that occurred on Might 26, 2026.
The commerce itself
At 10:30:34 ET, a single counterparty bought 29.21 million IBIT shares at $43.16 per share through an off-exchange negotiated transaction.
The vendor accepted a $1.01 low cost to the prevailing market value of $44.17 — a 2.3% concession value roughly $29.5 million — in trade for speedy execution.
NYDIG described the execution construction plainly:
“The designations point out a negotiated off-exchange block transaction executed beneath trade-through exemptions and sweep procedures that allowed the vendor to prioritize certainty of execution over value enchancment.”
IBIT recovered to roughly $44.06 inside a minute of the print earlier than closing the session at $42.99, suggesting the low cost mirrored the price of shifting a $1.26 billion place immediately slightly than any broader market deterioration.
Why NYDIG guidelines out a foundation commerce
The most typical various rationalization — {that a} delta-neutral foundation dealer was unwinding a paired ETF-and-futures place — is dismissed on three grounds.
First, on economics, NYDIG famous:
“A foundation investor dealing with no exterior constraints would typically be anticipated to unwind passively over time slightly than settle for an instantaneous 230-basis-point execution penalty.”
Second, on CME futures exercise, the report is direct:
“A simultaneous foundation unwind of this dimension would have represented roughly 43% of complete day by day CME quantity and certain produced a visual spike in futures exercise. No such exercise occurred.”
The ten:30–10:31 window similar to the block recorded solely 91 CME Bitcoin futures contracts, towards a full-day complete of roughly 8,630.
The $720M in redemptions is a crimson herring
IBIT reported roughly $192 million in internet redemptions on Might 26 and $528 million on Might 27, totaling $720 million throughout two days.
NYDIG cautions towards studying these figures as a direct measure of promoting tied to the block:
“The reported redemptions could replicate different buyers decreasing publicity throughout the identical interval slightly than exercise straight attributable to the block itself.”
Each reported NAVs — $42.955 on Might 26 and $42.431 on Might 27 — had been beneath the block execution value of $43.16, making speedy redemption economically unattractive for any purchaser of the block.
Who bought, and why
At 29.21 million shares, the place exceeded the disclosed March 31, 2026, holdings of each recognized 13F filer in IBIT, making the universe of potential sellers extraordinarily slender.
NYDIG lays out the 2 potential explanations:
“One chance is a pressured sale pushed by investor redemptions, threat limits, or balance-sheet constraints. The choice is a discretionary funding choice. In that case, the vendor selected to soak up a $29.5 million execution price slightly than settle for the danger of exiting over a number of periods.”
The block occurred towards a backdrop of six consecutive days of internet outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs totaling roughly $1.55 billion, with bitcoin having failed to interrupt above its 200-week shifting common resistance close to $82,000–$82,500 and the 14-day RSI dropping from round 70 to the mid-30s.
NYDIG concludes:
“The weakening technical backdrop, ongoing ETF outflows, and willingness to pay a considerable execution premium for immediacy are extra in keeping with discretionary liquidation slightly than investor redemptions or a portfolio rebalance.”