Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth funds Mubadala Investment Company and Al Warda Investments expanded their holdings of the BlackRock spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (IBIT) during the fourth quarter of 2025.
While the broader crypto market suffered a 23% slide, these state-backed entities were quietly accumulating, bringing their collective exposure to the digital token to more than $1bn.
According to a filing submitted to the Securities and Exchange Commission on 18 Feb, Mubadala increased its holding to 12.7mn shares. A separate regulatory disclosure confirms Al Warda now holds 8.2mn shares. Together, they control a significant portion of the world's most liquid Bitcoin exchange-traded product.
Accumulating during the market slide
The BlackRock ETF currently boasts more than $50bn in assets under management. Based on valuations at the end of the year, Mubadala owns approximately $631mn in IBIT, and Al Warda maintains a stake worth roughly $408mn.
This calculated accumulation follows a familiar pattern for the Gulf state. In the previous quarter, the Abu Dhabi Investment Council more than tripled its stake in the fund. The move illustrates a clear shift in sovereign wealth strategy, elevating the digital asset from a speculative venture capital play to a core treasury allocation. It effectively provides Bitcoin with a sovereign-grade stamp of approval as a legitimate store of value.
Building a new financial pillar
Al Warda operates as a designated vehicle for the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, a wholly owned subsidiary of Mubadala. The parent fund manages total assets of about $330bn. Much like its regional neighbours, Abu Dhabi is actively embracing digital assets as a foundational pillar of its future financial system. The capital city has thoroughly updated its regulatory framework to permit decentralized finance and tokenization, alongside establishing a domestic mining ecosystem.
This comprehensive regulatory revamp covers the entire financial stack. It provides clear rules of the road for exchanges, custodians, stablecoin issuers and settlement systems. This regulatory certainty is translating directly into physical expansion. Major hedge funds, including Brevan Howard, Balyasny and Man Group, are now expanding their trading operations within the city.
Al Maryah Island expansion
To accommodate this influx of capital and financial talent, Mubadala and local developer Aldar recently announced a $16bn expansion of the Al Maryah Island financial district.
The macro-political picture is coming into sharp focus. While US regulators continue to debate the finer points of crypto classification, Abu Dhabi is deploying its considerable sovereign wealth to secure a structural advantage in the digital asset space.
