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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
 

 
FORM 8-K
 

 
CURRENT REPORT
 
Pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934
 
Date of Report (Date of Earliest Event Reported): April 7, 2025
 
iShares® Bitcoin Trust ETF
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
 
New York
001-41914
93-6461129
(State or other jurisdiction
of incorporation)
(Commission File Number)
(I.R.S. Employer
Identification No.)
     
     
 
c/o iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC
400 Howard Street
San Francisco, California 94105
 
 
(Address of principal executive offices)
 
 
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (415) 670-2000
 
Not Applicable
Former name or former address, if changed since last report
 

 
Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions:
 
Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)
 
Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)
 
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))
 
Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))
 
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
 
Title of each class
Trading Symbol(s)
Name of each exchange on which
registered
Shares
IBIT
The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC 
 
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an emerging growth company as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933 (§230.405 of this chapter) or Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (§240.12b-2 of this chapter).
 
Emerging growth company
 
If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.
 
 

 
 
Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.
 
On April 7, 2025, BlackRock Fund Advisors, as administrative trustee of iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (the "Trust") entered into a custodial services agreement (the "Anchorage Custodian Agreement") with Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. ("Anchorage" or the "Additional Bitcoin Custodian"), a national trust bank chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Pursuant to the Anchorage Custodian Agreement, Anchorage will establish and maintain one or more segregated custody accounts, controlled and secured by Anchorage, on its books which will have the ability to support the receipt, safekeeping, and maintenance of the Trust’s bitcoin holdings.
 
The Trust’s existing custody arrangement with Coinbase Inc., Coinbase Custody Trust Company and other Coinbase entities (collectively, "Coinbase") will remain in force and is unaffected by the Trust's entry into the Anchorage Custodian Agreement. The Trust is not required to hold any particular amount of assets at either Coinbase or the Additional Bitcoin Custodian, and the Sponsor shall, in its sole discretion, determine the amounts held at either custodian as permitted by the Trust Agreement. At the current time, the Sponsor has no plans to move any of the Trust’s bitcoin to the Additional Bitcoin Custodian. The addition of the Additional Bitcoin Custodian reflects the Sponsor’s ongoing risk management approach as part of the Trust’s growing size and the Sponsor’s expanding presence in the digital asset space.
 
Under the Anchorage Custodian Agreement, the Additional Bitcoin Custodian is required to keep all of the private keys associated with the Trust’s bitcoin held at the Additional Bitcoin Custodian in cold storage. Cold storage is a safeguarding method by which the private key(s) corresponding to bitcoin is (are) generated and stored in an offline manner. Private keys are generated in offline computers or devices that are not connected to the internet so that they are more resistant to being hacked. By contrast, in hot storage, the private keys are held online, where they are more accessible, leading to more efficient transfers, though they are potentially more vulnerable to being hacked.
 
In the event of a fork, the Anchorage Custodian Agreement provides that the Additional Bitcoin Custodian may temporarily suspend services, and may, in their sole discretion, determine whether or not to support (or cease supporting) either branch of the forked protocol entirely, provided that the Additional Bitcoin Custodian shall use commercially reasonable efforts to avoid ceasing to support both branches of such forked protocol. The Anchorage Custodian Agreement requires the Trust to indemnify Anchorage and its respective officers, directors, agents, employees and representatives against certain losses arising or related to the Trust’s material breach of the Anchorage Custodian Agreement, violation of applicable law, gross negligence, fraud, or wilful misconduct. The Anchorage Custodian Agreement also requires Anchorage to maintain certain insurance policies and coverage.
 
The foregoing description of the Anchorage Custodian Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Anchorage Custodian Agreement, which has been filed with this Current Report on Form 8-K as Exhibit 10.1.
 
Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.
 
(d)
Exhibits.
     
     
Exhibit No.
 
Description
   
10.1
 
Master Custody Service Agreement dated as of April 7, 2025, by and between Anchorage Digital Bank N.A. and BlackRock Fund Advisors, in its capacity as agent to iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF
     
104
 
Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document)
 
 

 
SIGNATURES
 
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.
 
Date: April 8, 2025
 
 
iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF* 
     
 
By:
iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC
     
 
By:
/s/ Bryan Bowers
 
Name:
Bryan Bowers
 
Title:
Director and Chief Financial Officer
     
 
   
*
The registrant is a trust. The individual specified above is signing in her capacity as an officer and/or authorized signatory of iShares Delaware Trust Sponsor LLC, the sponsor of the Trust.