Abu Dhabi sovereign funds, including Mubadala Investment Company and Al Warda Investments, collectively held over $1 billion in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) by the end of 2025, according to reports from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Q4 2025 13F filings. Based on the values from the time of the report, Mubadala owned around $630 million in IBIT, and Al Warda maintained a $408 million stake.
Combined Holdings Surpass $1 Billion
Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund backed by the Abu Dhabi government, added about 4 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) between October and December, which accounts for a total holdings of 12.7 million shares. This move was followed by Bitcoin’s downturn to roughly 23% during the quarter. The firm made its first purchase in IBIT in late 2024 and has since been adding to it. Meanwhile, Al Warda Investments is a strategic arm of the Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) that oversees the diversified global assets on behalf of government-related entities. They held over 8.2 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter, up slightly from 7.96 million shares three months earlier.
Together, the two funds held more than $1 billion worth of bitcoin through IBIT at the end of 2025. However, with Bitcoin’s price trending downward with 23% year-to-date in 2026, the current value of their holdings has dropped to just over $800 million as of 17th February. The reports of the SEC reflect a growing institutional interest in spot bitcoin ETFs, even during periods of market volatility. Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the CEO of Mubadala, oversaw the fund’s shift toward digital assets as a store of value. Digital Gold is the primary narrative used by ADIC/Mubadala to justify Bitcoin as a long-term hedge. Moreover, the UAE’s economic diversification strategy, which is often associated with ‘Vision 2030’ and ‘We the UAE 2031’, has become a catalyst in driving sovereign funds like Mubadala and Al Warda Investments’ exposure into non-correlated digital assets like bitcoin. BlackRock’s IBIT was launched in 2024, and since then, it started to act as a dominant vehicle for regulated exposure to bitcoin in the U.S.
Long-Term Digital Asset Diversification Strategy Remains Intact
The current financial maneuver demonstrates that the temporary price pullbacks do not intimidate the large state-owned capital. On the contrary, the steadfastness of these United Arab Emirates government entities underscores a diversification strategy into digital assets, amid stability and growth over a multi-year horizon. Although the value of the holdings fluctuated at the beginning of 2026 due to recent market corrections, the commitment of these sovereign wealth funds remains unchanged.
Goldman Sachs last week disclosed roughly $2,3 billion in total crypto exposure, including a $1.1 billion position in IBIT. This signaled a shift from its earlier skepticism towards bitcoin. Harvard also adjusted its crypto holdings in Q4 2025, cutting its bitcoin position by 21% to 3.5 million IBIT shares, while also establishing a new $86.8 million stake in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust. The SEC filings also portrayed smaller holdings in Fidelity’s Bitcoin fund, bitcoin-related companies, and options positions tied to IBIT, alongside the exposure to Ethereum, XRP, and Solana.
Institutional Holders Signal Structural Market Support
Bitcoin is trading today at $67,787.60, down 0.94%. The crypto market faced ongoing headwinds in early 2026, such as low volatility, reduced retail participation, and macroeconomic uncertainty. Some long-term investors appeared to be using the downturn as an opportunity to build positions in the regulated, liquid products tied to digital assets. Robert Mitchnick, Head of Digital Assets at BlackRock, analyzed that the perception of hedge funds being responsible for selling pressure is erroneous. Instead, the SEC Q4 2025 13F filings suggested that large IBIT holders are maintaining a ‘buy and hold’ outlook, thus acting as a fundamental support for the cryptocurrency market structure.
