The Mubadala Investment Company from Abu Dhabi has increased its stake in the BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust, indicating a continued interest in cryptocurrencies from one of the world's largest sovereign wealth funds.
According to a document submitted on May 15 to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), as of March 31, Mubadala owned 8.7 million shares of the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) valued at $408.5 million. This is an increase compared to 8.2 million shares at the end of 2024.
Despite the increase in the number of shares, the total value decreased from $436 million due to fluctuations in the price of IBIT, which, according to Yahoo Finance, was $58.86 at the close on May 15.
Investments in IBIT make up only a small portion of Mubadala's portfolio, which manages over $300 billion in assets. Nevertheless, this is one of the largest allocations in a bitcoin-$ETF ever made by a sovereign fund. Investing in the iShares Bitcoin Trust allows entities like Mubadala to gain exposure to bitcoin without the need to directly own the cryptocurrency.
This move could encourage other sovereign or institutional investment funds to reconsider their position on bitcoin, especially through instruments like IBIT, where the risk appears to be more manageable.
