BlackRock Cuts Bitcoin ETF Swap Minimum 96% to $1 Million as IBIT Hits $5 Billion in Tax-Deferred Conversions

BlackRock lowered the minimum threshold for in-kind Bitcoin-to-IBIT conversions from $25 million to $1 million, effective July, a 96% reduction that opens the tax-deferred swap mechanism to a broader range of mid-sized institutions through authorized participants. The firm's iShares Bitcoin Trust has now processed more than $5 billion in such in-kind conversions, up from $3 billion reported last October, as whale investors continue shifting direct Bitcoin holdings into ETF shares without triggering immediate capital gains. IBIT also recorded its highest year-to-date weekly cash inflow of $1.33 billion last week, and on Tuesday BlackRock captured over 90% of the $314.37 million in Bitcoin ETF inflows, with an additional $146.4 million in Ethereum ETF purchases extending a seven-consecutive-session buying streak.

Separately, Uzbekistan's central bank is planning a mid-September roundtable with BlackRock, Goldman Sachs, and JPMorgan to explore investment options for its national reserves, which fell to $64.3 billion in July from $66.3 billion at the start of the year, with gold comprising 87% of holdings. BlackRock has also emerged as one of the nonbank entrants into the stablecoin market, a space previously dominated by Tether and Circle, as more than a dozen traditional banks including Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Santander move to launch their own stablecoin venture.