On Jan. 20, 2026, Delaware Life Insurance Company launched what it calls the industry’s first fixed indexed annuity tied to a Bitcoin-inclusive index in the United States. The change gives policyholders indirect Bitcoin exposure inside a principal-protected annuity, aiming to expand retirement-planning options.
The annuity adds the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index, which mixes U.S. stocks and Bitcoin while targeting 12% volatility. The Bitcoin allocation comes through the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), which held about $74.5 billion in assets under management.
Fixed indexed annuities protect principal and typically cap gains, with zero returns in down periods. (Ed. note: this structure limits downside at the cost of reduced upside.)
The index option will be available for three products: Momentum Growth, Momentum Growth Plus, and DualTrack Income. Company leadership framed the move as a response to evolving retirement needs, as “As the retirement-planning landscape evolves, we’re continuously and thoughtfully innovating to meet the needs of financial professionals and their clients” stated.
Wall Street has already packaged IBIT exposure into products, with major firms selling more than $530 million in structured notes linked to the ETF. Insurers had been slow to adopt crypto; by 2021 U.S. insurers had invested only about $3 million in Grayscale trusts.
