Delaware Life Insurance Company has launched a new fixed indexed annuity (FIA) and, in doing so, has become the first U.S. insurance carrier to offer a product linked to a cryptocurrency-focused index. The annuity is tied to the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index. For retirement investors, the structure creates a way to access Bitcoin indirectly without buying or custodying BTC itself, while still keeping the principal protection that has long been central to traditional annuity products.
This matters because the product brings Bitcoin exposure into a format that is much more familiar to retirement planners and insurance clients. Instead of asking policyholders to own crypto directly, the annuity gives them access through a professionally constructed index. Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s Global Head of Digital Assets, said the launch builds on the strong success and client demand seen for IBIT and extends that demand into insurance-based retirement strategies. In his view, the product allows clients to add Bitcoin exposure as part of a broader indexed annuity approach rather than as a stand-alone speculative allocation.
Delaware Life also framed the launch as part of a broader innovation effort in retirement planning. Colin Lake, the company’s CEO of Marketing, said Delaware Life is proud to partner with BlackRock as the first insurance carrier to provide cryptocurrency exposure through a fixed indexed annuity. He added that as retirement-planning needs evolve, the company is continuing to innovate thoughtfully for financial professionals and their clients, with an emphasis on combining growth opportunities with protection.
How the index balances equity exposure with Bitcoin upside
The index is deliberately built as a blended allocation rather than a pure Bitcoin vehicle. It allocates 74% to the iShares Core S&P 500 ETF, 25% to the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), and 1% to cash. That mix is intended to combine the more traditional growth profile of U.S. equities with the higher-return potential associated with Bitcoin. In practical terms, it gives retirement investors a way to participate in digital assets without making Bitcoin the sole driver of portfolio performance.
A key part of the design is its 12% target volatility. The index uses dynamic cash adjustments to reduce the impact of Bitcoin’s sharp price swings. When volatility rises, the cash component can increase to lower overall risk; when conditions are calmer, the allocation can shift back toward more market exposure. This means the index is not built to mirror Bitcoin one-for-one. Instead, it is designed to capture some of Bitcoin’s upside potential while keeping risk within a range that is more compatible with annuity-based retirement products.
BlackRock has described the structure as a measured way for policyholders to participate in digital assets while preserving the downside protection they typically expect from annuities. That positioning is important. The product is not trying to turn annuities into aggressive crypto instruments. Rather, it wraps a limited Bitcoin allocation inside a familiar insurance framework, using asset mix and volatility controls to make the exposure more acceptable for conservative or retirement-focused investors.
Performance through the end of 2024 and product availability
The mixed allocation shows both the opportunity and the limitation of this approach. As of December 31, 2024, the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index had delivered a 1.88% return over the previous six months. At the same time, Bitcoin’s more recent weakness still affected the outcome: the source notes that BTC’s decline over the last three months contributed to a 3.16% drop over that period. In other words, volatility management can soften crypto-driven swings, but it does not eliminate Bitcoin’s influence on index performance.
The index is now available through three Delaware Life FIA products: Momentum Growth™, Momentum Growth Plus™, and DualTrack Income™. This gives clients multiple ways to incorporate Bitcoin-linked exposure into retirement portfolios depending on their broader income and growth preferences. For advisors and policyholders, that flexibility may be one of the product’s strongest selling points, because it allows Bitcoin exposure to sit within an established retirement product lineup rather than outside it.
Another notable feature is the use of IBIT, the iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, which the source describes as the largest and most liquid Bitcoin exchange-traded product. By relying on IBIT, the annuity can provide professionally managed Bitcoin exposure without requiring direct ownership of cryptocurrency. That removes many of the operational frictions associated with holding BTC directly, such as wallet management, private key security, exchange account setup, and self-custody concerns. For the insurance channel, this is a far more practical route to digital asset participation.
Why this launch matters for insurance and for Bitcoin adoption
According to the source article, this is the first time a life insurance company has allowed policyholders to select a product that includes Bitcoin. That alone makes the launch significant. In the insurance world, annuities are generally viewed as conservative, long-term planning vehicles. Bringing Bitcoin into that space suggests that digital assets are no longer confined to trading apps, crypto-native funds, or speculative portfolios. They are increasingly being repackaged into regulated, mainstream financial products aimed at retirement savers.
For investors, the appeal is not full crypto exposure but a compromise between growth potential and capital protection. A product like this may be especially relevant for people who are curious about Bitcoin but unwilling to manage direct crypto ownership or tolerate the full extent of market volatility. Through a fixed indexed annuity, they can gain a limited and structured form of participation while staying within a product category they may already understand or trust.
The article also provides a snapshot of the market backdrop at the time of publication. Bitcoin was priced at $87,774, down 2% over the last 24 hours, with $64 billion in 24-hour trading volume. Those figures are a reminder that even as Bitcoin enters more mature financial wrappers such as ETFs and annuities, it remains a volatile asset. Delaware Life’s FIA does not remove that reality. What it tries to do is contain and reshape that volatility through diversification, cash management, and the annuity structure itself, making Bitcoin exposure more compatible with retirement-oriented investing.