BlackRock and Bitwise slash Bitcoin ETF in-kind conversion minimums
Bitcoin (BTC)
Editor:
Eugene Serbin
cvj.ai reports that BlackRock and Bitwise have drastically reduced the minimum thresholds for converting private Bitcoin into ETF shares, signaling a shift toward mainstream institutional custody. BlackRock lowered its minimum for its iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF from $25 million to $1 million, a 96% reduction, while Bitwise cut its floor from $100 million to $3 million, a 97% drop. These changes allow family offices and affluent clients to access services previously reserved for the wealthiest whales, with BlackRock’s program already processing over $5 billion.
The in-kind process lets holders transfer Bitcoin directly to avoid selling, wiring dollars, and repurchasing exposure, which can eliminate execution costs and defer taxable gains. This trend is broadening, with Morgan Stanley and Galaxy launching a referral program and Galaxy reducing its minimum to $5 million for referred clients. Grayscale noted that in-kind transactions comprised 62% of its gross Bitcoin creations in June, up from 28% in March, while ARK 21Shares saw average transactions of about $5 million.
The SEC approved these creations in July 2025, ending cash-only restrictions and facilitating the movement of billions from private wallets to regulated funds. As of August 25, US spot ETFs held 1,246,336 BTC, representing 5.935% of the total supply, with BlackRock’s IBIT alone holding 765,389.9 BTC. Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, stated that custody failures and physical risks like kidnappings motivate holders to move coins into ETFs. This shift concentrates assets among fewer institutional firms, with Coinbase acting as custodian for roughly 80.8% of US Bitcoin ETF assets by one measure.
How the market reacted
Whalio's own Binance spot order flow for BTC, measured when this story was written up on 28 August 2026. Not the outlet's figures.
Bitcoin is trading at $80,249.58 with a 1-hour buy ratio of 53.6% and a 4-hour buy ratio of 50.1%, indicating short-term buying pressure is stabilizing after a longer-term decline. The 24-hour buy ratio sits at 45.2%, showing that over the past day, selling pressure has outweighed buying activity. Volume delta reflects this imbalance, with positive deltas of +$1,905,004 in the last hour and +$291,505 over four hours, contrasting with a significant negative delta of -$123,102,218 over 24 hours. The cumulative volume delta for the 24-hour period closed at -$123,102,218, confirming that net outflows have dominated recent trading. Spot volume reached $1,297,370,375 with nearly 5 million trades, yet net buying occurred in only 5 of the last 24 hours. This suggests that while trading activity remains high, the prevailing trend over the day has been one of net selling.
The latest daily buy ratio of 46.7% sits at the 18th percentile of the last 322 days, against a median of 49.2% - weaker buying than most days.
Twenty-four hours later
What BTC did over the 24 hours after the story broke. The market moves for its own reasons; this is what happened, not what the story caused.
Was that an ordinary day?
The same Binance spot measurements for BTC, averaged over the days leading up to the story.
Over the preceding week, the average buy ratio was 51.1%, meaning the current 24-hour ratio of 45.2% represents a 5.8 percentage point drop from the weekly norm. Trading volume over the last day was 0.65x the weekly average, indicating a notable decrease in activity compared to the prior seven days. Despite lower volume and a lower buy ratio today, the coin has gained 9.9% over the eight-day period, with a total positive volume delta of +$171,556,665. This week saw net buying on 5 of 7 days, suggesting that today’s negative flow is an unusual deviation from the recent trend. The current day is quieter than average, with volume significantly below the weekly mean, yet the price has still appreciated substantially over the longer timeframe.