NYDIG says $1.26B IBIT block likely a rapid exit by a large investor

Crypto investment firm NYDIG said a $1.26 billion block sale of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) on May 26 likely reflected a large investor seeking a rapid exit rather than an unwind of a basis trade. The off-exchange transaction moved 29.21 million IBIT shares at $43.16 each, a $1.01 discount to the market price of $44.17 — a 2.3% concession that NYDIG estimated cost roughly $29.5 million to execute.

The trade was reported through the FINRA/Nasdaq TRF Carteret facility. Some market participants suggested the block might have been tied to a basis trade, where spot bitcoin exposure is paired with short futures. NYDIG rejected that view, saying the size of the discount would have materially reduced the strategy’s expected returns.

The firm also noted that the IBIT position equated to about 3,700 CME bitcoin futures contracts, yet only 91 contracts traded in the minute the block was executed and there was no unusual spike in futures volume.

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