Large Bitcoin holders exchanged more than $5 billion worth of BTC for shares in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), according to a November 9, 2026 TechFlow report citing BeInCrypto. The holders used in-kind conversions rather than selling their bitcoin, a process that could defer taxation.
Security concerns behind the shift
BlackRock’s head of digital assets, Robbie Mitchnick, cited incidents involving kidnapping, extortion and custodian errors as factors driving the trend. He expected the trend to continue growing.
Existing bitcoin, not fresh market cash
The report emphasized that these conversions use bitcoin already held by investors and do not bring new cash into the market. The reported $5 billion therefore represents a shift from direct BTC holdings into fund shares, not an equivalent amount of fresh cash entering the bitcoin market.
U.S. regulators approved in-kind creations and redemptions for crypto-asset ETFs in July 2025. According to the report, BlackRock lowered its minimum conversion threshold from $25 million to $1 million in July 2026.
Source: TechFlow, citing BeInCrypto. Original publication: November 9, 2026, at 23:39:43 (UTC+8).
