Abu Dhabi’s investment landscape is witnessing a significant shift as two prominent firms have ramped up their investments in Bitcoin amid a downturn in the cryptocurrency market. Recent regulatory filings reveal that Mubadala Investment Company and Al Warda Investments have made considerable acquisitions of BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF, the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT), during the fourth quarter of 2025.
Mubadala, a sovereign wealth fund supported by the Abu Dhabi government, enhanced its holdings by acquiring nearly four million shares of IBIT from October to December, raising its total shares to approximately 12.7 million. This strategic move occurred in the context of Bitcoin experiencing a decline of about 23% during the same quarter. Since its initial investment in IBIT in late 2024, Mubadala has been consistently increasing its stake in the product.
Simultaneously, Al Warda Investments, which manages diverse global assets for government-related entities, also increased its investments slightly, holding 8.2 million shares of IBIT at the close of the fourth quarter, up from 7.96 million shares three months prior. Collectively, these two investment firms possessed over $1 billion in Bitcoin through IBIT at the end of 2025. However, Bitcoin’s continued descent, registering an additional 23% drop year-to-date in 2026, has diminished the current valuation of their combined holdings to just above $800 million, assuming no further acquisitions have been made this year.
The data, disclosed through 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, underscores the growing interest from institutional investors in spot Bitcoin ETFs, highlighting a trend of increased activity during times of market instability. BlackRock’s IBIT, which launched in early 2024, has quickly established itself as the primary accessible medium for regulated Bitcoin investment in the United States.
Despite facing significant challenges in the early part of 2026, such as low market volatility, decreased retail involvement, and broader economic uncertainties, some long-term investors seem to be capitalizing on the current downturn to strengthen their positions in compliant and liquid digital asset products.
During a recent panel, Robert Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, countered the notion that hedge funds trading ETFs are fueling market volatility and aggressive selling. He indicated that the evidence contradicts this belief, stating that holders of IBIT are primarily focused on long-term gains rather than reactive trading strategies.
