$1.3B IBIT Dark-Pool Block Sale Seen as Possible Catalyst for Bitcoin's Sudden Slide

BlockBeats reported that analysts on May 27 pointed to a large dark-pool transaction in BlackRock's iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) as a potential trigger behind Bitcoin's latest sharp selloff. Data shows that at 14:30 UTC on Tuesday, a trader sold 29.2 million IBIT shares in a dark pool, a block valued at roughly $1.3 billion. Minutes after the trade, Bitcoin fell quickly from $77,875 to $76,720 in about 10 minutes, then extended losses to around $75,600. Galaxy Digital Head of Research Alex Thorn said it was the largest IBIT dark-pool trade he has seen. Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas noted the sell order was more than 22 times larger than the day's second-biggest IBIT sell order. U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs have also posted net outflows for eight straight trading sessions, with cumulative withdrawals topping $2 billion since May 14. IBIT alone saw a single-day net outflow of about $192 million on Tuesday. Separately, filings show Jane Street cut its Bitcoin ETF holdings by roughly 70% in the first quarter, while Goldman Sachs trimmed its position by about 10%, signaling some institutions are reducing exposure to Bitcoin ETFs.