UAE Has $700M in Bitcoin from Mining

The UAE’s $700M BTC holdings are now labeled on Arkham. 

These holdings come from Bitcoin mining operations carried out by Citadel, a public mining company majority owned by UAE Royal Group through IHC (International Holding Company).

The UAE is the 4th largest government with Bitcoin holdings on the Arkham Intel platform, with almost $700M in BTC.

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Unlike the US and UK, the UAE’s holdings do not come from police asset seizures but from mining operations with Citadel Mining. So far, they have mined approximately 9,300 BTC and are still holding approximately 6,300 BTC.

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Citadel Mining is 85% owned by 2pointzero, which is 100% owned by IHC. IHC is ~61% owned by UAE Royal Group, which is a conglomerate owned by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, of Abu Dhabi’s royal family.

In conjunction with Phoenix Group (a public UAE mining company) and the UAE government-owned IHC, Citadel built an 80,000 square meter bitcoin mining facility on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi in 2022 in 6 months.

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We were able to corroborate the timeline of on-chain mining activity with time-lapse satellite imagery of facility construction. On-chain transactions between Phoenix and Citadel also match amounts disclosed in official reports.

Phoenix Group is also labelled on the Arkham platform and holds $3.3M of BTC.

The choice to mine the Bitcoin rather than buying it or seizing it is an interesting one. It signals a long-term, industrial-level commitment to the Bitcoin network, rather than passive acquisition. 

This deep integration suggests a belief in the fundamental value and longevity of Bitcoin, positioning the UAE as a key player in the future of digital finance and blockchain technology. 

It is perhaps another sign of the UAE’s broader economic diversification strategy. The Gulf nation is using its oil revenues - which many see as anachronistic in this day and age - to pivot towards a digital future.