Two of Abu Dhabi’s major investment firms increased their exposure to bitcoin BTC$67,619.38 in the fourth quarter of 2025, buying into BlackRock’s spot bitcoin ETF as the market fell, 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 holdings to 12.7 million shares. The move came as bitcoin fell roughly 23% during the quarter.

Mubadala made its first purchases in IBIT in late 2024 and has been adding since.

Al Warda Investments, another Abu Dhabi-based investment management firm that oversees diversified global assets on behalf of government-related 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 more than $1 billion worth of bitcoin via IBIT at the end of 2025. However, with bitcoin down another 23% year-to-date in 2026, the current value of their combined holdings has dropped to just over $800 million as of Tuesday (assuming they haven’t continued adding in 2026).

The disclosure, made through 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, which launched in early 2024, has quickly become the dominant vehicle for regulated exposure to bitcoin in the U.S.

While the crypto market has faced ongoing headwinds in early 2026 — including low volatility, reduced retail participation, and macroeconomic uncertainty — some long-term investors appear to be using the downturn to build positions in regulated, liquid products tied to digital assets.

BlackRock head of digital assets, Robert Mitchnick, said on a recent panel that there is a mistaken belief that hedge funds using ETFs are driving volatility and heavy selling, but that does not match what the firm is observing. Instead, he said, IBIT holders are in it for the long term.

Key takeaways:

• Institutional sentiment is shifting toward ETH as elite funds reallocate capital from Bitcoin to Ether ETFs.

• BlackRock’s ETH ETF pairs secure staking with a low 0.25% fee, creating a major win for mainstream crypto access.

• Dominance in the $20 billion real-world asset sector proves that big money prioritizes network security over low gas fees.

Ether (ETH) has failed to reclaim the $2,500 level since Jan. 31, leading traders to question what might spark sustainable bullish momentum. Investors are waiting for definitive signs of a favorable sentiment shift; meanwhile, three distinct events could signal the end of the bear cycle that bottomed at $1,744 on Feb. 6.

At first glance, the $327 million in net outflows from spot Ether exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in February is mildly concerning. The apparent lack of institutional appetite while ETH sits 60% below its all-time high could be seen as a lack of confidence in the $1,800 support level. However, these outflows represent less than 3% of the total assets under management for Ether ETFs.

Recent Ether ETF milestones may boost ETH’s price

While investors currently focus almost exclusively on short-term flows, the magnitude of recent Ether ETF developments will eventually reflect positively on ETH price. In bearish markets, positive news is often ignored or downplayed, but strategic moves from the world’s largest asset managers can quickly flip investor risk perception.

The latest US Securities and Exchange Commission filings showed on Monday that the Harvard endowment fund added an $87 million position in BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust during the final quarter of 2025. Interestingly, this vote of confidence arrived as Harvard reduced its iShares Bitcoin Trust holdings to $266 million, down from $443 million in September 2025.

In parallel, BlackRock amended its Staked Ethereum ETF proposal on Tuesday to include an 18% retention of total staking rewards as service fees. While some market participants criticized the hefty fee, the ETF sponsor must compensate intermediaries like Coinbase for staking services. Moreover, the relatively low 0.25% expense ratio remains a net positive for the industry.

The final piece of evidence pointing to growing institutional adoption lies in real world asset (RWA) tokenization, a segment that has surpassed $20 billion in assets. Ethereum stands as the absolute leader, hosting offerings from BlackRock, JPMorgan Chase, Fidelity and Franklin Templeton. This intersection of blockchain applications and traditional finance may trigger sustainable demand for ETH.

Nearly half of the $13 billion in RWA deposits on Ethereum represent tokenized gold, though investments in US Treasurys, bonds and money market funds grew to an impressive $5.2 billion. By comparison, the combined RWA listings on BNB Chain and Solana amount to $4.2 billion, a strong indicator that institutional money is less concerned with fees and more focused on security.

Related: Tokenized RWAs climb 13.5% despite $1T crypto market drawdown

Even if RWA issuers currently focus on closed-end systems using exclusive decentralized finance pools or their own layer-2 networks, intermediaries will eventually find ways to connect with the broader Ethereum ecosystem. Crypto venture capital firm Dragonfly Capital’s latest $650 million funding round signals a strong appetite for tokenized stocks and private credit offerings.

Rather than backing layer-1 blockchains and consumer-focused applications, investors are directing capital toward RWA infrastructure, institutional custody and trading platforms, a clear sign of market maturation. Although it is difficult to predict how long these shifts will take to impact Ether’s price, these events clearly indicate that a bounce back to $2,500 in the near term is feasible.