UAE Holds $700M in Mined Bitcoin, Far Less Than Rumored 420,000 BTC

Arkham identifies UAE’s sovereign Bitcoin wallets, linked to mining operations with Citadel Mining
The United Arab Emirates holds roughly $700 million worth of Bitcoin, primarily acquired through state-backed mining operations, according to blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence.
In a report published Monday, Arkham said it had identified government-controlled wallets holding about 6,300 BTC, mined through Citadel Mining, a company majority-owned by the UAE’s International Holding Company (IHC). Unlike the US and UK, whose holdings largely stem from criminal asset seizures, the UAE’s Bitcoin stash was accumulated via industrial-scale mining.

The figures fall well short of speculation that the UAE possessed up to 420,000 Bitcoin – worth around $46 billion – which would have ranked it as the world’s largest nation-state holder.
Royal Family-Linked Mining Firm Expands UAE’s Bitcoin Footprint
Arkham reported that Citadel Mining, built in 2022 in partnership with UAE-listed Phoenix Group and backed by the IHC, has produced a total of 9,300 BTC to date.

The mining firm is 85% owned by 2pointzero, itself controlled by the IHC, in which Abu Dhabi’s Royal Group – chaired by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the UAE’s royal family – holds a 61% stake.
Arkham said it confirmed the on-chain mining activity with satellite imagery of the facility’s construction, while transactions between Phoenix and Citadel aligned with disclosures in official filings.
How the UAE Compares to Other Nation-State Bitcoin Holders
With its reported 6,300 BTC, the UAE ranks as the world’s sixth-largest sovereign Bitcoin holder, trailing Bhutan’s 11,286 BTC and slightly ahead of El Salvador’s 6,246 BTC, according to BitBo data.
The US leads with 198,012 BTC, followed closely by China with 194,000, both amassed largely from seizures of illicit funds. The UK comes third with 61,245 BTC. In total, nation-states collectively hold around 517,000 Bitcoin – about 2.4% of the total supply – valued at more than $56 billion.

Still, Arkham notes that Bitcoin’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto, retains the single-largest stash, with an estimated 1.096 million BTC. Meanwhile, Michael Saylor’s company Strategy remains the top corporate holder, with 629,376 BTC in its treasury, representing nearly 3% of Bitcoin’s supply.