Unknown trader’s $1.3B IBIT dark-pool sale, Bitcoin dips

An unknown trader sold 29.2 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in a $1.3 billion dark-pool transaction at 2:30 pm UTC. The order was executed off-exchange in a venue institutions use to execute large trades away from public markets.

Market data showed Bitcoin fell about 1.5% from $77,875 to $76,720 within 10 minutes after 2:30 pm UTC. The cryptocurrency later reached a 24-hour low near $75,600 roughly 12 hours after the trade, representing a 2.8% decline for the day.

An ETF analyst tracking the order reported the block traded at $43.16 per IBIT share and was more than 22 times larger than the next-largest IBIT sell order that day. The identity of the counterparty was not disclosed.

Alex Thorn, head of firmwide research at Galaxy Digital, posted on X that it was the largest dark-pool trade he had seen.

The IBIT block came amid continued outflows from crypto ETPs. Bitcoin ETFs recorded eight consecutive trading days of net outflows, with $333.6 million withdrawn on Tuesday; IBIT accounted for about $192.4 million of that single-day outflow. Since May 14 the ETF complex has seen net redemptions exceeding $2 billion.

Regulatory filings and industry reports show some institutions have reduced their Bitcoin ETF exposure. A market maker reduced holdings by roughly 70% in the first quarter, and an investment bank trimmed its position by about 10%.

Dark pools are designed to limit market impact by keeping order size and timing private, but very large executions can still affect prices for ETFs that track volatile underlying assets. Traders and analysts are monitoring subsequent ETF flows and on-chain activity to assess whether the block trade was an isolated liquidity event or part of a broader shift in institutional demand.