Two of Abu Dhabi’s main funding corporations elevated their publicity to bitcoin within the fourth quarter of 2025, shopping for into BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF because the market fell, based on latest regulatory filings.
Mubadala Funding Firm, a sovereign wealth fund backed by the Abu Dhabi authorities, added almost 4 million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Belief (IBIT) between October and December, bringing its complete holdings to 12.7 million shares. The transfer got here as bitcoin fell roughly 23% throughout the quarter.
Mubadala made its first purchases in IBIT in late 2024 and has been including since.
Al Warda Investments, one other Abu Dhabi-based funding administration agency that oversees diversified international belongings on behalf of government-related entities, held 8.2 million shares on the finish of the fourth quarter, up barely from 7.96 million shares three months earlier.
Collectively, the 2 funds held greater than $1 billion price of bitcoin by way of IBIT on the finish of 2025. Nonetheless, with bitcoin down one other 23% year-to-date in 2026, the present worth of their mixed holdings has dropped to simply over $800 million as of Tuesday (assuming they have not continued including in 2026).
The disclosure, made by means of 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Trade Fee, displays rising institutional curiosity in spot bitcoin ETFs, even during times of market stress. BlackRock’s IBIT, which launched in early 2024, has shortly turn out to be the dominant automobile for regulated publicity to bitcoin within the U.S.
Whereas the crypto market has confronted ongoing headwinds in early 2026 — together with low volatility, decreased retail participation, and macroeconomic uncertainty — some long-term traders seem like utilizing the downturn to construct positions in regulated, liquid merchandise tied to digital belongings.
BlackRock head of digital belongings, Robert Mitchnick, mentioned on a latest panel that there’s a mistaken perception that hedge funds utilizing ETFs are driving volatility and heavy promoting, however that doesn’t match what the agency is observing. As an alternative, he mentioned, IBIT holders are in it for the long run.
