Abu Dhabi Sovereign Wealth Fund Stockpiles $436 Million in BlackRock Bitcoin ETF Shares

Mubadala Investment Company, the sovereign wealth fund that manages investments for the Abu Dhabi’s government, signaled on Friday that it started stockpiling exposure to Bitcoin last year via the leading ETF.

During the fourth quarter of last year, Mubadala scooped up $436 million worth of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, according to a quarterly report disclosing U.S. equity ownership filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Totaling 8.2 million in shares of the Nasdaq-listed iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF, it appeared that Friday’s disclosure represented a fresh investment by Mubadala in the product. A filing from the previous quarter did not disclose holdings in BlackRock’s $56.3 billion spot Bitcoin ETF.

Mubadala did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Decrypt.

As President Donald Trump’s administration mulls the prospect of a so-called strategic crypto reserve, which may include Bitcoin alongside other cryptocurrencies, some market participants described Mubadala’s move as indicative of an emerging race on a global scale.

“Other countries have started moving,” Swan’s Head of Private Clients and Family Offices Steven Lubka said on X (formerly Twitter).

Several governments already hold Bitcoin, including the U.S., China, the United Kingdom, and El Salvador, according to CoinGecko. However, the crypto data aggregator noted in an August report that the $32.7 billion sum largely stems from seizures related to criminal activity.

As one of the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is part of a growing crypto sector in the Middle East. Last summer, the Blockchain Center in Abu Dhabi launched, saying it “will focus on creating a thriving ecosystem that supports startups, enterprises, and academic institutions through a range of comprehensive services and initiatives.”

Though the U.S. may assert itself as a Bitcoin backer through Trump’s proposed stockpile, plenty of states have pushed for investing in cryptocurrencies on their own. 

While two states have rejected Bitcoin reserve bills, similar legislation is either pending or actively being considered in 21 states, according to Bitcoin Reserve Monitor.

Edited by Andrew Hayward