BlackRock lowers Bitcoin ETF conversion minimum to $1 million

BlackRock has significantly lowered the minimum threshold for in-kind creations of its iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT). The minimum transaction size for eligible in-kind conversions has been reduced by 96%, dropping from $25 million to $1 million.

This process allows authorized participants to exchange physical Bitcoin for IBIT shares without a direct cash sale. According to Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, more than $5 billion in Bitcoin has already been moved from private wallets into the ETF through these conversions.

The shift toward regulated ETFs is being driven in part by security concerns regarding self-custody. Investors are increasingly moving assets from private wallets to institutional custody due to risks such as custody failures, hardware wallet vulnerabilities, and physical attacks targeting crypto holders.