BlackRock Bitcoin ETF absorbs $1.3B block trade as liquidity holds

BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF absorbed a $1.3 billion block trade on May 26, with the fund's shares briefly dipping before quickly stabilizing, according to market data.

"The ability to digest a trade of this size with minimal price dislocation demonstrates the depth of the Bitcoin ETF market," said James Seyffart, ETF analyst at Bloomberg Intelligence. "This is the kind of liquidity event that institutional allocators need to see before committing larger sums."

IBIT, the largest spot Bitcoin ETF with $62 billion in net assets as of May 18, saw the single transaction change hands without triggering a cascade of selling. The rapid price recovery points to strong bid support beneath the market, even as the broader crypto complex contends with a prolonged period of low volatility.

The trade comes at a time when Bitcoin has settled into a narrow range near $76,500, with the Bitcoin Volmex Implied Volatility Index dropping to 36.11 — its lowest level since September and close to the weakest reading since 2023. Bitcoin remains almost 40% below its October record above $126,000. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have recorded about $1 billion in net outflows so far in May, ending two months of consecutive inflows, while spot trading volumes on Binance have fallen 81% from October 2025 levels.

For institutional investors, the IBIT block trade serves as a real-world stress test of ETF liquidity during a period of reduced market activity. If the fund can absorb $1.3 billion in a single transaction without material slippage during a low-volatility environment, it may encourage pension funds and endowments that have been waiting on the sidelines to begin allocating. The next catalyst for Bitcoin's direction could come from the US midterm elections later this year, which some analysts expect to reignite risk appetite across digital assets.

This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice.