Two of Abu Dhabi’s leading investment firms have increased their exposure to Bitcoin in the fourth quarter of 2025, buying BlackRock’s bitcoin spot ETF as the market was falling, according to recent regulatory filings.
Mubadala Investment Company, a sovereign wealth fund backed by the Abu Dhabi government, added nearly four million shares of BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) between October and December, bringing its total portfolio to 12.7 million shares. The move comes as bitcoin fell about 23% during the quarter.
Mubadala made his first IBIT purchases in late 2024 and has added more since.
Al Warda Investments, another Abu Dhabi-based investment management firm that oversees diversified global assets on behalf of government-linked entities, held 8.2 million shares at the end of the fourth quarter, up slightly from 7.96 million shares three months earlier.
Together, the two funds held over $1 billion worth of bitcoin through IBIT at the end of 2025. However, with bitcoin down an additional 23% year-to-date in 2026, the current value of their combined holdings fell to just over $800 million as of Tuesday (assuming they didn’t continue to add more in 2026).
The disclosure, made via 13F filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, reflects growing institutional interest in spot Bitcoin ETFs, even during periods of market stress. BlackRock’s IBIT, launched in early 2024, has quickly become the dominant vehicle for regulated bitcoin exposure in the United States.
While the crypto market has faced persistent headwinds in early 2026 – including low volatility, reduced retail participation and macroeconomic uncertainty – some long-term investors appear to be taking advantage of the downturn to build positions in regulated liquid products linked to digital assets.
Robert Mitchnick, head of digital assets at BlackRock, said on a recent panel that there is a mistaken belief that hedge funds using ETFs generate volatility and sell-offs, but this does not match what the firm observes. Instead, he said, IBIT holders are in it for the long haul.
