According to a recent filing with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund currently holds a significant amount in BlackRock’s spot Bitcoin ETF (exchange-traded fund). This purchase came in the final quarter of 2024 after asset management firm BlackRock secured the commercial license to operate in Abu Dhabi last November.
Sovereign Wealth Fund Buys Significant Stake In Largest Bitcoin ETF
On Friday, February 14th, a 13F filing with the SEC revealed that Mubadala Investments purchased $436.9 million of BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF shares (with the ticker IBIT). Mubadala Investments is one of Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth funds, which makes investments on behalf of the Middle Eastern city’s government.
In 2024, the world’s largest asset manager BlackRock — with tens of trillions of dollars under management — disclosed its intentions to expand in the Middle East, focusing on the capital city Abu Dhabi and Riyadh. The recent $437 million purchase of its Bitcoin ETF accentuates BlackRock’s mission to work closely with sovereign wealth funds in the region.
Interestingly, this latest acquisition is hardly the first time Abu Dhabi’s government — through its various investment entities — would dabble into cryptocurrencies. In 2023, the Abu Dhabi Developmental Holding Company and Marathon Digital revealed plans to launch digital asset mining operations in the capital city.
State Of Wisconsin Investment Board Discloses $321 Million Bitcoin ETF Holdings
Interestingly, BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF has also enjoyed a fair share of domestic attention in the United States. On Friday, the State of Wisconsin Investment Board also reported an increased exposure to the premier cryptocurrency through the exchange-traded fund.
According to the filing with the SEC, Wisconsin’s pension fund now holds around $321 million in spot Bitcoin ETFs. This represents an estimated 100% increase from the board’s $164 million BTC ETF holdings (previously reported in May 2024).
As of the last filing, the Wisconsin pension fund held approximately 2.4 million (worth approximately $100 million) shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust and 1 million shares (valued at $64 million) of Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust (GBTC). However, the latest filing shows that the pension fund has allocated all of its BTC exposure into BlackRock’s exchange-traded fund and no longer holds any shares of GBTC.
It is worth noting that the price of Bitcoin has grown by nearly 70% since May 2024. As of this writing, the premier cryptocurrency is valued at around $97,250, reflecting a mere 1% increase in the past 24 hours. According to data from CoinGecko, the Bitcoin price is up by roughly 90% in the past year.
