The Hidden Cost of a Large Bitcoin Buy

What every CFO and treasurer should understand about moving size before the first allocation.

Author

Bitcoin Treasuries
June 18, 2026

Most treasury teams make the decision to buy Bitcoin, then route the order through the same retail venue they would use to buy a few hundred dollars of it. The order fills, but not at the price they saw.

Buying is the easy part. Executing at size, without moving the market against yourself, is what separates a defensible cost basis from money quietly left on the table. And once the position is on, the question shifts: a balance that just sits is a balance that could be generating yield.

“At a million dollars and up is really where the OTC markets offer depth and liquidity.”  — Michael Geraci, Secure Digital Markets

Michael Geraci, derivatives trader at Secure Digital Markets, covers the exchange, execution, and OTC relationships institutional Bitcoin holders need to get right before the first dollar moves. Will Reeves, CEO of Fold, joins with the operator’s view from running a public company that holds Bitcoin on its own balance sheet.

Visit SDM to talk through execution, OTC, and structured solutions tailored to your holdings and accumulation goals.

What this session covers

When a retail exchange stops being enough. Slippage turns material around $250K and is unambiguous past $1M, where a buy can run 5 to 60 bps in execution cost. OTC desks solve this with real depth and a counterparty accountable on the other end of the phone.

How a large order actually gets worked. Size is worked, not clicked. Orders are placed across venues and over time, benchmarked to TWAP or VWAP so the trade tracks the market instead of running ahead of it. That is the difference between a price you can defend to your board and one you cannot.

Why the desk you choose matters. Tier-1 banking relationships keep fiat moving cleanly, pre-funded trades settle T+0 to T+1, and a client-centric desk puts a named person on the line to walk you through your questions, not a support inbox or a contact form.

SDM is a crypto-native institutional brokerage offering spot execution, derivatives, and structured lending. It specializes in bilateral transactions that give treasuries the depth, flexibility, and privacy a retail exchange cannot match, while clients retain custody of their own assets. You can learn more at SDM.co.

This session shows how to get the execution right, so the price you pay holds up the first time you trade at size, and how to put that position to work once it is on the books.

Watch and share with your treasury team:

Onward,