At least one sovereign wealth fund, and possibly two, have been quietly accumulating spot Bitcoin at current price levels, according to Basil Al Askari, CEO of Abu Dhabi-based regulated crypto trading platform MidChains. Al Askari made the disclosure on Cointelegraph’s Chain Reaction podcast on Monday, framing the institutional moves as a deliberate strategy to exploit a perceived discount.
State-Level Conviction Behind the Buys
Sovereign wealth funds are state-owned investment vehicles capitalised by national reserves, meaning their Bitcoin purchases represent government-level conviction rather than private speculation. These funds collectively control more than $13 trillion in assets globally.
Al Askari described the current Bitcoin price level as an entry point that larger funds with extended holding horizons find attractive. He said these are “mega funds” with the patience to accumulate over time, and the current dip is being treated as an opportunity rather than a warning.
“I would be able to confirm that one, at least one, and possibly in the coming weeks, two sovereign wealth funds have been accumulating spot Bitcoin specifically,” Al Askari said.
Signal to the Sidelines
Al Askari was measured about the short-term price impact, saying the accumulation will not trigger an immediate price surge. However, he stressed the moves carry significant symbolic weight for institutions currently watching from the sidelines.
He said the purchases send “a very clear signal” to institutional investors that have yet to commit, describing them as seeking “a way to experiment and start to get involved” with Bitcoin by observing what the larger, more credible funds are doing.
“I do think this is what will happen, is that over the longer term period, we’ll start to see Bitcoin becoming more and more scarce as a result of larger holders with much longer time horizons on their holding periods as far as looking at investments.”
Middle East Institutions Already in Motion
Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company invested $437 million in Bitcoin through BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) in February 2025. Bhutan’s Druk Holding and Investments is among the earliest sovereign holders of Bitcoin directly, though it has been selling portions of its holdings this year.
Coinbase’s head of institutional strategy, John D’Agostino, echoed the sentiment in a separate CNBC appearance earlier this month, reporting that UAE family offices and sovereign funds are actively buying at reduced prices.
“I just got off a plane from the Middle East, and I can tell you that the family offices in the UAE and the government and sovereign funds that are putting the effort into buying this asset class are not unhappy at being able to buy it at a discount,” D’Agostino said.
ETF Outflows Contrast With Corporate Accumulation
The broader Bitcoin market picture remains divided. US spot Bitcoin ETFs have seen sustained outflows exceeding $4.1 billion so far this month. At the same time, corporate treasury buyers remain active, with Strategy alone acquiring 3,657 BTC during the same period. Retail participation in crypto markets has slowed, while institutional and corporate activity is accelerating, pointing to a market increasingly driven by patient long-term holders rather than short-term traders.
