SKN | Bitcoin Enters U.S. Retirement Annuities as Delaware Life Taps BlackRock Index

Bitcoin has taken another step into the heart of traditional retirement finance, as Delaware Life Insurance Company introduces limited, risk-managed bitcoin exposure across several of its annuity products through an index developed by BlackRock.

The move marks one of the clearest examples yet of cryptocurrency being embedded into mainstream, insurance-based retirement vehicles rather than offered as a standalone or speculative allocation.

How the annuity-linked bitcoin exposure works

Delaware Life’s new offering uses a custom index that blends U.S. equities with a small allocation to bitcoin. Importantly, policyholders do not own bitcoin directly. Instead, the crypto exposure is delivered through iShares Bitcoin Trust, BlackRock’s spot bitcoin exchange-traded fund.

The index is designed with volatility controls that target an annualized volatility level of roughly 12%. This means the bitcoin allocation is dynamically adjusted to dampen sharp swings, a key requirement for annuity products that emphasize capital protection and predictable outcomes.

Delaware Life said the structure allows retirement investors to participate in bitcoin’s price movements while maintaining the principal protection and tax-deferred growth typical of fixed indexed annuities. The index will be available across three of the company’s annuity products.

Why this matters for retirement investors

Fixed indexed annuities are widely used by conservative savers seeking downside protection, with returns linked to the performance of a reference index rather than direct asset ownership. By integrating bitcoin into that framework, Delaware Life is effectively repositioning crypto from a speculative asset into a portfolio component that can coexist with traditional retirement planning.

This approach reflects growing demand from investors who want exposure to bitcoin’s long-term upside but remain wary of its volatility and custody risks. Wrapping bitcoin exposure inside an insurance product removes the need for wallets, private keys or direct trading decisions, while still offering participation in price appreciation.

BlackRock’s expanding role in crypto integration

BlackRock launched its spot bitcoin ETF in January 2024, and it has since become the dominant vehicle for institutional bitcoin exposure. According to CoinMarketCap, the fund’s market capitalization has surpassed $70 billion, making it the largest spot bitcoin ETF globally.

In December, BlackRock said the bitcoin ETF ranked among its three largest investment themes in 2025, signaling that demand has extended well beyond crypto-native investors into pensions, wealth managers and insurance-linked strategies.

A broader insurance industry shift

Delaware Life is not alone in exploring bitcoin-linked structures. Insurance companies are increasingly experimenting with crypto either as an underlying asset or as a balance-sheet reserve.

Meanwhile Group, which offers bitcoin-denominated life insurance, raised $82 million in October 2025 to support growing demand for crypto-based savings and retirement products. Separately, Tabit, a Barbados-based insurer, has used bitcoin to back its regulatory reserves while issuing traditional U.S. dollar-denominated insurance policies.

These developments suggest insurers are becoming more comfortable with bitcoin as both an asset and a financial infrastructure component.

Policy tailwinds and what comes next

Regulatory momentum is also playing a role. In August, Donald Trump signed an executive order directing regulators to expand access to cryptocurrency exposure within U.S. 401(k) retirement plans, reinforcing the trend toward integrating digital assets into long-term savings vehicles.

For now, Delaware Life’s move represents a cautious but significant step. By limiting volatility and embedding bitcoin within familiar annuity structures, the insurer is testing whether crypto can transition from a high-risk allocation into a normalized component of retirement portfolios.

If adoption grows, this model could become a blueprint for how bitcoin ultimately enters the trillions of dollars managed across the U.S. retirement and insurance ecosystem.