{"slug":"block-trade","term":"Block Trade","category":"Market Structure","definition":"A block trade is a large transaction negotiated away from the public order book — through an OTC desk, a broker or a venue's block facility — and printed afterwards, so that the size does not move price on the way in. Blocks are how institutions and whales actually transact; the public tape sees them late or not at all.","street":"The 2,000 BTC buy you are waiting to see on the chart happened over the phone at 9am, and the chart will find out when it is convenient.","depth":["On derivatives venues, block trades are reported after execution with a flag, which is how large options positions become visible. In spot, a block is usually an OTC desk matching a buyer and seller and settling on-chain, which shows up as an exchange outflow or a labelled transfer rather than a print. Our whale feed watches those labelled on-chain moves precisely because size rarely announces itself in the book.","The trap is inferring direction from a block's existence: a 5,000 BTC outflow from an exchange may be a purchase, a custody move or collateral shuffling, and our own study found on-chain whale moves do not predict direction. What they do predict is activity — volatility follows size — so treat a block as a reason to expect movement and size for it, not as a side to take."],"live":{"label":"Labelled whale transfers, live","href":"/tools/whale-alert"},"related":["otc-desk","whale","exchange-netflow","iceberg-order","wallet-labels"]}