Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) increased its exposure to Bitcoin ahead of the cryptocurrency’s sharp decline, more than tripling its stake in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) during the third quarter, according to a regulatory filing.
ADIC, an independently operated investment arm within Mubadala Investment Company, increased its holdings in IBIT stock to approximately 8 million shares as of September 30.
The position was valued at about $518 million at the time, up from 2.4 million shares three months earlier, Bloomberg reported.
The accumulation by the Abu Dhabi Council comes just weeks before Bitcoin soared to an all-time high in early October, before dropping below $92,000 as leveraged bets unraveled across the market.
Abu Dhabi Council says the move is part of a broader, long-term diversification strategy. A spokesperson described Bitcoin as the digital version of gold and said the allocation was intended to parallel the fund’s traditional store of value assets.
The purchase was not isolated. Mr. Mubadala separately reported that he owned 8.7 million shares of IBIT stock valued at $567 million at the end of the third quarter, unchanged from his previous filing.
Other major institutions, including Harvard University, added IBIT positions around the same time.
Still, investor appetite has cooled since October’s sharp selloff. About $3.1 billion has been out of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs so far in November, according to Bloomberg data.
IBIT alone saw record redemptions of $523 million in a single day after Bitcoin fell below a key price level, leaving many ETF investors in the lurch.
Bitcoin movement in Abu Dhabi
The increase in ADIC’s allocation is noteworthy given Abu Dhabi’s economic scope and growing ambitions to establish itself as a global cryptocurrency hub. The emirate’s wealth funds collectively oversee more than $1.7 trillion, and Mubadala is already a major player in the region’s digital wealth expansion.
Earlier this year, Mubadala-backed tech investment firm MGX acquired a $2 billion stake in Binance using a stablecoin tied to US President Donald Trump’s family.
Inside ADIC, its entry into Bitcoin coincides with a broader shift toward global expansion. The council was originally established in 2007, later incorporated under the Mubadala structure, and continues to operate under its own mandate and investment strategy.
The company recently strengthened its management team, adding executives such as Alan Carrier, former head of international operations at the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, and Ben Samirud, formerly head of investments at Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, the paper said. Bloomberg.
While crypto volatility remains a concern for global investors, Abu Dhabi’s stance highlights a different calculus. The idea is that major sovereign wealth funds are increasingly comfortable treating Bitcoin as a long-term strategic asset.
Other governments are moving in the same direction. El Salvador added more than $100 million in Bitcoin this week, the Czech Central Bank revealed its first crypto purchase, and Kazakhstan is building a national crypto reserve fund that could reach $1 billion.
Bitcoin price is currently in the $90,300 range.
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