Investor sells $1.26B of BlackRock Bitcoin ETF at discount

An unidentified investor executed a $1.26 billion off-exchange sale of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on May 26, accepting a substantial discount to exit the position rapidly. The transaction involved 29.21 million shares sold at $43.16 each, a price $1.01 below the prevailing market rate of $44.17. This 2.3% concession amounted to approximately $29.5 million, indicating the seller prioritized speed and execution certainty over price optimization.

The block trade was reported through the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret facility, a venue commonly used for privately negotiated, off-exchange transactions. Analysis from financial services firm NYDIG concluded the evidence points toward a large directional holder urgently liquidating a concentrated Bitcoin-linked position rather than unwinding a common hedge fund arbitrage strategy known as a basis trade. Greg Cipolaro, NYDIG’s global head of research, noted the steep discount and the absence of a corresponding spike in CME Bitcoin futures activity argued against a basis trade unwind. The IBIT position was equivalent to roughly 3,700 CME futures contracts, yet only 91 contracts traded during the minute the block was executed.