A new report from NYDIG has dissected one of the largest single ETF block trades ever recorded — a $1.26 billion off-exchange sale of BlackRock’s IBIT shares that took place on May 26, 2026.
The trade itself
At 10:30:34 ET, a single counterparty sold 29.21 million IBIT shares at $43.16 per share via an off-exchange negotiated transaction.
The seller accepted a $1.01 discount to the prevailing market price of $44.17 — a 2.3% concession worth approximately $29.5 million — in exchange for immediate execution.
NYDIG described the execution structure plainly:
“The designations indicate a negotiated off-exchange block transaction executed under trade-through exemptions and sweep procedures that allowed the seller to prioritize certainty of execution over price improvement.”
IBIT recovered to roughly $44.06 within a minute of the print before closing the session at $42.99, suggesting the discount reflected the cost of moving a $1.26 billion position instantly rather than any broader market deterioration.
Why NYDIG rules out a basis trade
The most common alternative explanation — that a delta-neutral basis trader was unwinding a paired ETF-and-futures position — is dismissed on three grounds.
First, on economics, NYDIG noted:
“A basis investor facing no external constraints would generally be expected to unwind passively over time rather than accept an immediate 230-basis-point execution penalty.”
Second, on CME futures activity, the report is direct:
“A simultaneous basis unwind of this size would have represented approximately 43% of total daily CME volume and likely produced a visible spike in futures activity. No such activity occurred.”
The 10:30–10:31 window corresponding to the block recorded only 91 CME Bitcoin futures contracts, against a full-day total of roughly 8,630.
The $720M in redemptions is a red herring
IBIT reported approximately $192 million in net redemptions on May 26 and $528 million on May 27, totaling $720 million across two days.
NYDIG cautions against reading those figures as a direct measure of selling tied to the block:
“The reported redemptions may reflect other investors reducing exposure during the same period rather than activity directly attributable to the block itself.”
Both reported NAVs — $42.955 on May 26 and $42.431 on May 27 — were below the block execution price of $43.16, making immediate redemption economically unattractive for any buyer of the block.
Who sold, and why
At 29.21 million shares, the position exceeded the disclosed March 31, 2026, holdings of every known 13F filer in IBIT, making the universe of potential sellers extremely narrow.
NYDIG lays out the two possible explanations:
“One possibility is a forced sale driven by investor redemptions, risk limits, or balance-sheet constraints. The alternative is a discretionary investment decision. In that case, the seller chose to absorb a $29.5 million execution cost rather than accept the risk of exiting over multiple sessions.”
The block occurred against a backdrop of six consecutive days of net outflows from U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs totaling roughly $1.55 billion, with bitcoin having failed to break above its 200-week moving average resistance near $82,000–$82,500 and the 14-day RSI dropping from around 70 to the mid-30s.
NYDIG concludes:
“The weakening technical backdrop, ongoing ETF outflows, and willingness to pay a substantial execution premium for immediacy are more consistent with discretionary liquidation rather than investor redemptions or a portfolio rebalance.”
