Two Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds continue to hold major positions in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust, according to regulatory filings cited by Bitcoin Magazine.
Mubadala Investment Company disclosed on Friday that it held a $490 million stake in the fund. The position was the second-largest single holding across its full 13F portfolio.
A filing submitted on Thursday by the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, another state-run fund, showed a $273.6 million position in the same Bitcoin exchange-traded fund. That stake was the biggest holding in its portfolio.
Combined, the two funds reported $763.7 million invested in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF. Bitcoin Magazine also cited a post on X stating that Mubadala and Abu Dhabi Investment Council together owned that amount of the BlackRock vehicle.
Positions were unchanged from the prior quarter
The report said both sovereign funds kept their Bitcoin-related positions unchanged from last quarter.
UAE Bitcoin exposure has a different origin
Earlier this year, blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence attributed about 6,782 BTC to wallets connected to Bitcoin mining activity linked to the UAE’s Royal Group. At the time of Arkham’s analysis, those holdings were worth roughly $453.6 million.
Bitcoin Magazine said the finding highlights a difference between how the UAE has built Bitcoin exposure and how some other governments came to hold large amounts of the asset. In the case of the United States, substantial Bitcoin reserves largely originated from law enforcement seizures. In contrast, the UAE’s holdings were described as stemming primarily from domestic mining activity rather than confiscated assets.
IBIT remains the leading crypto ETF
Since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approved a group of Bitcoin funds in January 2024, large investors have been able to gain Bitcoin exposure through shares of regulated vehicles traded on stock exchanges.
According to the report, BlackRock’s IBIT is the most successful crypto ETF. The fund has taken in more cash than any other crypto ETF and currently holds $47.3 billion in assets under management.
The article added that pension funds and U.S. states have also gained Bitcoin exposure through ETFs, alongside traditional investments such as technology stocks and other U.S. equities.
The story first appeared on Bitcoin Magazine and was written by Mathew Di Salvo.