No, I believe @peakd mis-spoke. Because "convert" means the same as "exchange for" in the fiat world, it is easy to use that word instead of "trade." There is no blockchain mechanism for converting in this direction.
Ah, so now we see. The hive dev fund converts the Hive from the ninja stake to the HBD and has been doing so since the hard fork from Steem in order to fund projects in hive dollars.