Abu Dhabi National Investment Fund spends $436.9 million buying BlackRock's Bitcoin ETF

Does the move pave the way for other governments to approach Bitcoin as a strategic asset, or is it simply part of a global financial trend?

Abu Dhabi National Investment Fund, through Mubadala Investment Company, purchased $436.9 million in shares of BlackRock's Bitcoin spot ETF (IBIT) in Q4-2024.

The deal comes at a time when BlackRock was granted a commercial license to operate in Abu Dhabi last November.

CZ 🔶 BNB

@cz_binance

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This report is just from one of the Sovereign Wealth Funds (Mubadala) in AD. There are a few other SWFs in AD.

Ash Crypto

@Ashcryptoreal

BREAKING: 🇦🇪 ABU DHABI SOVEREIGN WEALTH FUND HAVE BOUGHT $436 MILLION WORTH OF BITCOIN.

5:18 PM · Feb 14, 2025

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The investment was made through Mubadala Investments, one of Abu Dhabi's national investment funds. The move shows that the city government is expanding its interest in digital assets, marking an important step forward in the region's financial strategy.

This is the first time a national investment fund has directly invested in Bitcoin, a milestone for the crypto market.

Former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has suggested that other national investment funds in Abu Dhabi could soon follow in Mubadala's footsteps, setting a precedent for financial institutions in the region.

If this trend spreads, it could impact national investment funds around the globe, accelerating Bitcoin uptake by large institutions.

Mubadala's investment is part of a broader trend, as more and more large financial institutions embrace Bitcoin and digital assets. Governments and financial companies in the Middle East are gradually applying blockchain and crypto to traditional financial systems.

Anthony Pompliano 🌪

@APompliano

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Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund just revealed they are buying hundreds of millions of dollars in bitcoin and people still think the United States won’t buy bitcoin. The Strategic Bitcoin Reserve is happening. Just a matter of time.

4:58 PM · Feb 14, 2025

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Earlier in 2023, Abu Dhabi invested in Bitcoin mining. That same year, Marathon Digital and Zero Two announced a partnership to build a massive Bitcoin mining complex in Abu Dhabi, demonstrating the government's long-term strategy for the crypto and blockchain sectors.

Although this is a major investment, it is not the first time that the Abu Dhabi government has entered the digital asset market. In August last year, Coinspeaker reported that the UAE has the world's third-highest crypto adoption rate, thanks to government crypto-friendly policies.

Mubadala Investment became Blackrock's seventh-largest holding of IBIT shares. Source: @BTC_Archive.

In 2023, Abu Dhabi also invested in Bitcoin mining, partnering with MARA Holdings and Zero Two to build a large-scale Bitcoin mining complex. Now, with the decision to invest in a controlled Bitcoin ETF, Abu Dhabi is showing that digital assets are gradually becoming part of traditional finance.

Currently, BlackRock manages the world's largest spot Bitcoin ETF, with total assets worth nearly $56 billion. The investment may be one of the largest crypto deals ever undertaken in the name of the Abu Dhabi government, but it is not the first time the city's government has been involved in the digital asset sector.