365Crypto
The UAE holds around $700 million worth of Bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence. The stash comes from mining, not police seizures.
Arkham said government wallets hold about 6,300 BTC, mostly mined through Citadel Mining, a firm tied to Abu Dhabi’s royal family.
Unlike the US and UK, which built reserves from criminal crackdowns, the UAE tapped into mining. Citadel partnered with Phoenix Group to build a large facility in Abu Dhabi in 2022.
Arkham matched mining activity on the blockchain with satellite images of the site. It estimates the UAE has mined about 9,300 BTC in total.
Citadel Mining is majority owned by International Holding Company (IHC), which is part of Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s Royal Group.
With these reserves, the UAE ranks sixth worldwide, behind Bhutan but ahead of El Salvador. The US still leads with nearly 200,000 BTC from seizures, followed by China and the UK.
