Delaware Life Insurance Company launched a fixed indexed annuity on January 20, 2026 that is tied to an index incorporating Bitcoin exposure, in partnership with BlackRock. The product is positioned as a regulated path to Bitcoin-linked upside while keeping the principal-protection features typical of annuity contracts.
The index option was added to three existing fixed indexed annuity (FIA) products—Momentum Growth™, Momentum Growth Plus™ and DualTrack Income™—using the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index. Rather than creating a standalone product line, the rollout embeds the new index inside established FIA wrappers.
Delaware Life Insurance Company, a Group 1001 insurance subsidiary, announced the addition of the BlackRock U.S. Equity Bitcoin Balanced Risk 12% Index to its fixed indexed annuity (FIA) product lineup, making it the first U.S. insurer to introduce bitcoin exposure within this…
— Wu Blockchain (@WuBlockchain) January 20, 2026
How the Index Delivers Bitcoin Exposure
The index blends U.S. equities with Bitcoin exposure and targets 12% volatility through dynamic cash adjustments, aiming to manage risk mechanically as conditions change. Bitcoin exposure within the index is routed primarily via BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT), which acts as the practical exposure conduit.
Policyholders do not receive direct ownership of Bitcoin or IBIT shares; instead, interest credits are linked to index performance rather than custody of the underlying asset. In effect, the structure offers indirect exposure by design, keeping the policyholder’s experience focused on index-linked crediting.
Constraints That Shape Realized Outcomes
While the structure is intended to balance upside participation with guardrails, the annuity wrapper introduces the familiar limits that shape realized returns. Fixed indexed annuities commonly use caps, participation rates, and renewal provisions that can materially change how much of any index move ultimately becomes credited interest.
Liquidity terms also matter for allocators who value flexibility. Surrender charges and limited liquidity in early contract years can restrict tactical repositioning, even when the index’s construction is behaving as intended.
Delaware Life framed the partnership as demand-driven, with Colin Lake emphasizing an “opportunity for growth with protection.” BlackRock’s Robert Mitchnick described the index as a “measured approach” to adding bitcoin exposure inside an indexed annuity strategy, reinforcing the positioning around controlled participation rather than direct crypto ownership.
Investors and product managers are likely to focus on implementation details that determine outcomes: how caps and participation rates are set and reset at renewal, how the index’s volatility-control mechanics behave through dislocated markets, and how regulatory or tax guidance evolves for ETF-based crypto exposure inside insurance products. Those variables will determine whether the annuity translates index construction into durable, retirement-oriented results.
