UAE Accumulates $700M in Bitcoin From Mining

According to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the United Arab Emirates has amassed around 700 million dollars of Bitcoin in state-linked mining activities, which is one of the largest sovereign holdings of crypto, which was not obtained by asset seizures or open market buyouts.

UAE Government Holds 6,300 Bitcoin Worth $700M

Arkham latest on-chain research pointed out that digital wallets that are recognized to be under the control of the UAE government are currently storing approximately 6,300 Bitcoin (BTC). Even at current market values, such holdings have a valuation of nearly $700 million, making the Gulf nation one of the largest publicly known sovereign holders of Bitcoin in the world.

In contrast to the United States and the United Kingdom, the government Bitcoin reserves are mostly the result of law enforcement seizure of funds generated by criminal investigations, the UAE cryptocurrency treasure trove is mostly created as a result of local mining.

According to the analysis of Arkham, the major part of the holdings was acquired by way of the mining of Bitcoin by Citadel Mining, a publicly traded mining company that is majority-owned by International Holding Company (IHC), which is a UAE-based conglomerate that has ties to the Royal Group.

International Holding Company is one of the most active investment companies in the Middle East which has spread in various fields such as energy, healthcare, technology, and infrastructure.

UAE Directly Engages in Bitcoin Mining

The UAE is in a unique situation as its majority ownership of Citadel Mining makes it one of the sovereign actors that are directly involved in blockchain infrastructure instead of acquiring digital units by confiscation or allocating them through the treasury.

According to the estimates of Arkham researchers, the total amount of BTC mined by the UAE since the initiation of state-related activities has been approximately 9,300. Out of it, about 6,300 BTC are kept in wallets that belong to government-controlled bodies.

The rest have been sold off or are in related entities, including the Phoenix Group, a digital asset and mining infrastructure firm that had helped to develop the mining facilities.

Reviewed satellite images, and blockchain transaction data reveal that Citadel has built its main mining facility in Abu Dhabi in 2022 with Phoenix Group.

The construction of the facility was also a major stride in the efforts of the country to increase the digital asset infrastructure and use its energy resources to facilitate the high-performance computing processes, including Bitcoin mining.

The findings by Arkham indicate that the strategy of the UAE is related to a larger nationalist diversification plan. The oil-rich federation, long dependent on hydrocarbon revenues, has over the last years hastened efforts in fintech and blockchain technology investment in part of its efforts to lower its reliance on fossil fuels and establish itself as a regional financial innovation centre.

The UAE has made a unique track compared to Western governments that mostly acquired Bitcoin through random means because of a criminal case or exchanges by mining tokens instead of accumulating them through exchanges or asset seizures.

Analysts observe that the reserves that are based on mining can provide more strategic control over the cost of acquisition and development of infrastructure, as well as internalize the sovereign actor more within the underlying network.

The prices of the holdings of the UAE will keep oscillating depending on the volatility of the market price of Bitcoin. But the report by Arkham highlights the increased role of nation-states in direct participation in the digital asset ecosystem.

The UAE model demonstrates a new model in which governments beyond regulation and enforcement increasingly transition to active production and accretion of decentralized assets as more governments consider regulatory frameworks, central bank digital currencies, and strategic crypto reserves.