UAE Goes All In on Bitcoin: A Comedy of Errors or a Masterstroke?

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At the end of 2025, two wealth funds based in Abu Dhabi were reported to be hoarding over $1 billion in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF. Apparently, they think that buying the dip is the new national pastime-right up there with camel racing and extravagant brunches. According to the quarterly 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Mubadala Investment Company, for instance, claimed ownership of 12,702,323 shares of this Bitcoin ETF (IBIT), valued at a staggering $630 million. That’s a 46% increase from the previous quarter when they were sitting pretty with only 8.7 million shares. Clearly, they believe in getting more for less, or at least more for more.

Juan Leon, a senior investment strategist at Bitwise, noted,

“Mubadala sovereign wealth fund doubled down on BTC during the Q4 drawdown.”

It’s almost as if he’s saying, “Why sell when you can buy more at a discount?” I guess it’s a good thing they don’t have a Costco membership-imagine the impulse buys!

Al Warda Investments, another government-backed entity, held a cool 8,218,712 shares of IBIT, worth over $408 million. Together, these two entities brought their overall Bitcoin exposure at the end of last year to over $1 billion. Meanwhile, BTC’s price took a nosedive by 30%, dropping from $126K to $87K, which just shows the UAE’s unwavering faith in this crypto rollercoaster. Peter Rizzo, a self-proclaimed Bitcoin historian, chimed in with, ‘nations are buying the dip.’ Perhaps he’s been reading too many financial fairy tales.

Long Exposure in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF Drops 10%

Now, let’s take a minute to digest this: on a quarter-on-quarter basis, institutional ownership of IBIT decreased by a measly 0.41%. It’s as if these firms decided to have a picnic rather than run for the hills. However, the average portfolio allocation dropped by 28%, which sounds a little bit like doing the cha-cha while simultaneously stepping back. Institutional shares (long positions) saw a net reduction of 41.36 million shares between Q3 and Q4, which is a fancy way of saying, “We’re still in, but we’re not exactly doubling down like our friends in Abu Dhabi.”

To add a sprinkle of spice, it’s worth noting that the 13F filings do not capture the full picture of strategies that institutional firms deploy. We only get a glimpse of the iceberg tip; the rest is lurking beneath the surface, possibly plotting a grand escape. Their short exposure via CME Futures and other platforms isn’t included in these filings, so who knows what shenanigans are actually happening behind the scenes?

Meanwhile, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF assets under management (AUM) have taken a nosedive from a record $95 billion to $57 billion as the crypto chaos unfolds. Overall, the U.S. spot BTC ETFs AUM has plummeted from $162 billion to $100 billion. It’s like watching a magic show where the rabbit keeps disappearing.

Final Summary

  • Mubadala and Al Warda Investment collectively reported holding over $1 billion worth of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF shares. Because why not?
  • Although BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF shareholders saw little change, they trimmed their exposure by nearly 10%. I mean, who doesn’t love a good trimming?

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2026-02-18 16:27