In-kind transfers to IBIT exceed $5 billion since launch
Key Facts
Robbie Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, said IBIT had facilitated in-kind transfers worth more than $5 billion through August 25, 2026, as bitcoin holders contribute bitcoin to the fund in exchange for traded shares. Bloomberg reported the remarks by Mitchnick in an article published through Wealth Management. The mechanism allows an investor to transfer holdings to the fund and receive its shares without first selling bitcoin for cash. Mitchnick said easier access to the process is driving its growth. He said concerns about custody and security incidents encourage some holders to transfer all or part of their assets, without implying that all transfers were made for this reason.
BlackRock expanded access to the mechanism in July, when it lowered the stated minimum transfer to $1 million from $25 million when it was first made available. Lowering the threshold makes the process available to a broader pool of holders, according to Bloomberg. The exchange is conducted through an in-kind creation, in which an investor contributes bitcoin or a digital asset held by the fund and receives ETF shares in return. An authorized participant or market maker transfers the asset, the report said. The transfer therefore does not require liquidating bitcoin for cash before receiving the shares.
The process can take more than a week, Bloomberg reported, citing Mitchnick, while inquiries have come from U.S. and international clients. This describes a procedural route that requires arranging the transfer of the asset and issuance of shares, rather than an immediate transaction for the investor. The report said some holders are motivated by kidnapping and ransom incidents and custody failures. Mitchnick said: "People see what's happening in the outside world, whether it's kidnapping, ransom or custody failure, and that motivates them to make this transition." This remains an explanation offered by a company executive and does not establish the motives of everyone who took part in the transfers.
IBIT's quarterly report filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission showed the fund held 801,033 bitcoin with a fair value of $67,044,294,946 on September 30, 2026. On December 31, 2025, holdings stood at 770,792 bitcoin, with a fair value of $67,415,764,355. The comparison shows an increase in the number of bitcoin between the two dates, alongside a decline in the reported fair value in dollars. These are holdings figures on two reporting dates and do not represent the value of the in-kind transfers cited by Mitchnick. The report also said 68,760,000 shares were redeemed during the quarter ended September 30, 2026.
The fund's filing names Coinbase Custody Trust Company as custodian of the bitcoin and also identifies Anchorage Digital Bank as an additional custodian. The filing said the sponsor does not currently plan to transfer any of the fund's bitcoin to the additional custodian. It also states that IBIT shares are listed and traded on Nasdaq under the ticker IBIT, and that Coinbase Custody is responsible for safeguarding the bitcoin owned by the fund. The iShares page shows one holding for the fund on November 6, 2026: the quantity of bitcoin it holds, according to the page's explanation. The filing also reports bitcoin purchases with a fair value of $19,841,572,288 and in-kind redemptions paid in bitcoin with a fair value of $848,715,906 during the nine months ended September 30, 2026.
In the market, BlackRock shares closed at $1,178.87 on November 6, while bitcoin ended the day at $75,844, according to EL7 data. In a report dated November 9, Reuters said bitcoin fell more than 2% to $73,708, its lowest level since August. The report linked the decline to concerns about tighter regulation following the U.S. midterm elections and cited the theft of assets from Binance as a factor that shook cryptocurrency markets. The FBI announced on October 31 that North Korea was responsible for stealing virtual assets worth more than $6 billion from Binance, saying the incident occurred around October 29. In a separate regulatory development, the Securities and Exchange Commission said its proposal would allow self-custody of crypto assets in certain circumstances and the use of state-level trust companies as custodians.