Abu Dhabi Investment Council Triples Bitcoin ETF Holdings in Q3: Report

The Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC), a sovereign wealth fund established in 2007 and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mubadala Investment Company, has just tripled its exposure to Bitcoin(BTC) in the third quarter through BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF. The latest reports show that as of September 30, the sovereign wealth manager increased its holdings from 2.4 million to nearly 8 million shares, bringing its total holdings closer to $518 million at the end of the third quarter. 

Bloomberg published a report stating that the Abu Dhabi Investment Council had increased its holding in BlackRock Inc.’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF to almost 8 million shares as of September 30, which was worth about $518 million at the time. According to the report, the position was taken shortly before the bull market when BTC dropped nearly 20% to $92,000 since the end of September. 

The ADIC spokesperson said to Bloomberg that they viewed Bitcoin as a store of value similar to gold, and as the world continued to move toward a more digital future, they saw Bitcoin playing an increasingly important role alongside gold. Both assets contributed to diversifying their portfolio, and they expected to hold them as part of their near and long-term strategy. 

When analyzing the market context of the move, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council made came amid $3.1 billion in outflows from U.S. Bitcoin ETFs in November, including a staggering $523 million single-day withdrawal from IBIT. The market experts believe that ADIC’s investment amid the broader market downtrend indicates the sustained and growing institutional interest in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and its ambition to become a global crypto finance hub in the near future. ADIC has over $1.7 trillion in assets, and with the autonomy it holds, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign funds can be increasingly allocated to digital assets like BTC. Bitcoin News reported that the move was notable given Abu Dhabi’s massive financial footprint. The emirate’s wealth funds controlled more than $1.7 trillion, and the parent fund Mubadala had been central to positioning Abu Dhabi as a global crypto hub. 

In summary, the ADIC’s latest investment in BTC stake reflects its strategic and long-term masterplan for Bitcoin, considering that BTC has a significant role to play and value despite its broader institutional adoption trend and volatility. The experts see this move as groundbreaking and aimed at long-term impact rather than a short-term speculative move.            

Earlier in 2025, Mubadala Took A $436 Million Position In IBIT

Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund, Mubadala Investment Company, also bought around $436 million worth of Bitcoin ETFs in the first quarter of 2025 through BlackRock. In Q1 2025, Mubala invested in Bitcoin ETFs, marking one of the first major crypto allocations by an autonomous sovereign entity. The purchase was completed on February 15, 2025, placing Mubadala Investment Company as the 7th largest known holder of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF at that time.   

Crypto Town Hall tweeted on X on February 15, 2025, that Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund had disclosed $463 million in Bitcoin ETF holdings, marking another major institutional bet on BTC. They noted that this followed similar moves by Norway, Singapore, Saudi Arabia, and Canada, as sovereign funds ramped up crypto exposure. They questioned whether, with Trump pushing for a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, Bitcoin would be part of America’s playbook as well.