According to a Bloomberg report, Abu Dhabi Investment Council (ADIC) significantly ramped up its exposure to Bitcoin via BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF in Q3 2025. Interestingly, this was just before the crypto markets turned sharply. Regulatory filings revealed that ADIC boosted its holdings from 2.4 million shares in Q2 to nearly 8 million shares in Q3. This positions its total value at ~ $518 million as of the end of September.
The report highlighted the timing of the sovereign wealth fund’s expansion as it coincided with Bitcoin’s surge to $126,000 before its subsequent crash below $92,000 in November. ADIC’s average purchase price for IBIT shares was around $64.52, taking advantage of the growing narrative of Bitcoin as ‘digital gold.’ This aggressive build-up came as IBIT itself posted a 6.2% gain in that quarter, but not long after, Bitcoin dropped by about 20%, dragging IBIT lower as well.
Abu Dhabi’s Wider Crypto Strategy
The council’s parent entity, Mubadala Investment Company, also held 8.7 million IBIT shares worth $567 million. Earlier filings show Mubadala added nearly 500,000 IBIT shares in Q1 2025, even as the ETF’s market price dipped. This takes Abu Dhabi’s combined exposure to more than 16 million shares. Analysts have read this as a strong signal that Abu Dhabi’s sovereign institutions are deepening crypto allocations amid wider regional efforts to establish the UAE as a digital-asset hub.
Beyond ETFs, the emirate has licensed major firms, including Circle, Bybit, and Tether, to operate in the Gulf. In 2025, Mubadala-backed MGX invested $2 billion in Binance. These moves reflect a broader strategy to integrate digital assets into sovereign wealth portfolios and cement Abu Dhabi’s role in global crypto finance.
But despite Abu Dhabi’s bullish stance, November 2025 saw $3.1 billion in outflows from U.S. Bitcoin ETFs, including a record $523 million single-day withdrawal from IBIT. The crash highlighted the risks of leveraged bets and institutional exposure, but Abu Dhabi’s long-term positioning suggests confidence in Bitcoin’s resilience.