UAE Holds $700 Million in Bitcoin From Mining Operations
The United Arab Emirates is reported to hold about $700 million in bitcoin, largely accumulated through mining, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.
In a post on X, Arkham said it had identified wallets linked to the UAE government that contain around 6,300 BTC, mined primarily by Citadel Mining, which is majority-owned by the government-backed International Holding Company (IHC). “Unlike the US and UK, the UAE’s holdings do not come from police asset seizures but from mining operations with Citadel Mining,” Arkham noted.
UAE’s Bitcoin mining ties to royal family
Arkham explained that in partnership with Phoenix Group, a publicly listed mining company, and the IHC, Citadel built a large mining facility in Abu Dhabi in 2022. The firm said it confirmed the mining activity using both on-chain data and satellite imagery of construction.
On-chain flows between Phoenix and Citadel also matched figures from official reports. Arkham estimates Citadel has mined about 9,300 BTC in total. Citadel is 85% owned by holding company 2pointzero, which is itself controlled by IHC. The UAE Royal Group, chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of Abu Dhabi’s royal family, owns a 61% stake in IHC, linking the mining venture directly to the ruling family.
Comparing the UAE’s holdings globally
With its recently identified stash, the UAE would rank as the world’s sixth-largest state bitcoin holder, ahead of El Salvador (6,246 BTC) but behind Bhutan (11,286 BTC), based on BitBo data. The US leads with 198,012 BTC, primarily from criminal seizures, followed by China with 194,000 and the UK with 61,245. Sovereign holdings are estimated at around 517,000 BTC in total, equal to 2.4% of the supply and worth over $56 billion.
Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin’s anonymous creator, is still believed to hold the single largest stash at about 1.096 million BTC, while Michael Saylor’s company, Strategy, has built the largest corporate treasury with 629,376 BTC, or nearly 3% of the total supply.
Sources:
https://cointelegraph.com/news/uae-ranks-sixth-in-bitcoin-holdings-with-700m-stash
https://x.com/arkham/status/1960002768703270959
https://x.com/arkham/status/1960002776055890068
https://x.com/arkham/status/1943725204955340818