Key Takeaways
- ADIC tripled its IBIT stake, showing its long-term conviction to bitcoin.
- ADIC and Mubadala together hold over 16 million IBIT shares.
- Abu Dhabi says it sees bitcoin as a gold-like diversification asset.
Abu Dhabi’s Investment Council (ADIC) has made a major move into Bitcoin. The fund tripled its investment in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) in the third quarter of 2025.
Even though the market fell shortly afterward, this step shows that Abu Dhabi is thinking long-term about Bitcoin.
ADIC increased its Bitcoin ETF holdings from 2.4 million shares to about 8 million shares by September 30. This new position was worth around $518 million.
It is one of the biggest known government-linked investments in a bitcoin financial product. ADIC appears focused on long-term growth rather than short-term price changes.
According to Bloomberg, a spokesperson said that the fund sees bitcoin much like traditional safe assets. They explained, “We view Bitcoin as a store of value similar to gold, and as the world continues to move toward a more digital future, we see Bitcoin playing an increasingly important role alongside gold.”
This means the fund believes bitcoin can help protect and strengthen its investments over time.
This investment is part of a broader direction across Abu Dhabi. ADIC is part of Mubadala Investment Co., a much larger sovereign wealth fund. Mubadala itself also reported owning 8.7 million IBIT shares, worth over half a billion dollars. Together, the two funds now hold more than 16 million ETF shares.
The IBIT fund, managed by BlackRock, is the largest Bitcoin ETF in the world, with more than $70 billion in assets.
Many institutions such as pension funds, universities, and national investment funds are now choosing bitcoin ETFs because they offer simple and regulated exposure to bitcoin without having to hold it directly.
Analysts say Abu Dhabi’s move shows that bitcoin is increasingly entering traditional financial portfolios. Other well-known investors, including Harvard University, also increased their IBIT holdings in the same period.
Bitcoin hit a record high in early October before dropping sharply below $92,000. The fall happened as many traders who used leverage were forced to close their positions.
This caused large withdrawals from bitcoin ETFs, including a record $523 million of one-day outflows from IBIT.
In total, U.S. bitcoin ETFs saw around $3.1 billion in withdrawals during November. However, even with this downturn, ADIC seems unfazed.
The council has been clear that it views bitcoin as a “long-term diversification strategy, much like gold. That means they expect price swings but plan to hold their position through the cycles.
Abu Dhabi’s investment in IBIT is only one part of its growing involvement in the digital asset sector. The UAE’s sovereign wealth funds manage more than $1.7 trillion, and many have already invested in digital assets.
Earlier in 2025, MGX, an investment firm backed by Mubadala, bought a $2 billion stake in Binance, one of the world’s largest exchanges. The purchase was made using USD1, a stablecoin linked to the family of U.S. President Donald Trump.
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