BlackRock Cuts Bitcoin ETF Swap Minimum to $1 Million
BlackRock has made a significant change to its Bitcoin ETF swap minimum, reducing it from $25 million to just $1 million. This move is part of a broader trend in the industry, with Bitwise and Morgan Stanley also lowering their thresholds.
The reduction applies to the iShares Bitcoin Trust's creation process, allowing eligible holders to swap their Bitcoin for shares without needing to sell their coins first. This can help defer capital gains taxes and eliminate the need to manage seed phrases and hardware wallets.
According to BlackRock's head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, the fund has processed over $5 billion in such transactions since October, with demand driven by kidnappings, ransom cases, and custody failures that push owners to move their holdings into a regulated wrapper.