Abu Dhabi BlackRock Bitcoin ETF holdings fell

Key Points

Two Securities and Exchange Commission forms show a total of $763.7 million, slightly higher than the previously widely reported $763.6 million.

IBIT's portfolio weight in the Abu Dhabi Investment Board (ADIC) rose and its weight in Mubadala almost halved, but its shareholding remained unchanged at the end of both quarters.

ADIC is wholly-owned by Mubadala, so these two positions come from different entities under the same sovereign investment group.

The official total amount is US$763.7 million.

Mubadala Investment Company's second-quarter information sheet shows that as of June 30, it held 14,721,917 shares of BlackRock iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (IBIT) worth US$490,092,617.

A separate filing from the Abu Dhabi Investment Committee (ADIC) showed that it holds 8,218,712 shares of IBIT worth US$273,600,922. The two positions totaled 22,940,629 shares with a total value of US$763,693,539. Rounded to $763.7 million instead of $763.6 million.

The number of shares held is fully consistent with the data disclosed by the two entities on March 31. Mubadala's first-quarter filing showed the same 14,721,917 shares worth US$565,616,051; ADIC's previous filing showed its unchanged 8,218,712 shares worth US$315,762,915.

The combined value at the end of the two quarters fell by $117.7 million, or approximately 13%, from $881.4 million to $763.7 million. Since the number of shares held on both filing dates was exactly the same, the difference reflects a decline in IBIT's market price on June 30, rather than a net sale between the two filing dates.

IBIT's shareholding remains unchanged, but the impact on the portfolio is opposite

On the ADIC side, although the reported value of IBIT's holdings fell by US$42.2 million, its share of the declared portfolio increased from 32.4% in the first quarter to 38.3% in the second quarter. The increase in this share is due only to relative changes: ADIC's 13F portfolio shrank by approximately 27%, from $974.8 million to $714.6 million.

Changes in Nu Holdings illustrate this situation. The company was slightly above IBIT in March, but ADIC reported a 78% decline in Nu's stake at the end of June. IBIT leapt to first place because a competitive net position was cut and the overall declared portfolio size shrank-rather than the increase in Bitcoin ETF positions themselves.

Mubadala showed the opposite result. IBIT remained its second-largest declared position, but its portfolio weight dropped from 2.8% to 1.4%. Mubadala's 13F portfolio expanded by approximately 70% to US$34.77 billion, mainly due to the increase in the reported value of its GlobalFoundries holdings.

The changes in these two weights do not indicate that the two parties have differences in Bitcoin investment decisions, but rather suggest that rankings and portfolio proportions can be misleading when separated from other parts of the filing document. If the question is whether the two regulators have changed their quarter-end IBIT allocations, the number of shares is more instructive: it remains the same as the totals of the two portfolios move sharply in opposite directions.

These are two declarations within the same sovereign group.

The total amount of US$763.7 million combines the positions declared by Mubadala and ADIC respectively, but the two entities are not unrelated sovereign funds.

Mubadala described ADIC as a wholly-owned subsidiary, playing a unique role in Abu Dhabi's sovereign investment system.

It is accurate to say that both Abu Dhabi declared entities belong to the Mubadala Group. The combined position is reasonable because the filing documents list separate IBIT shares, but describing them as separate national investments would exaggerate the degree of institutional separation behind this total amount.

The filing document is a June snapshot rather than a real-time position

Mubadala submitted its report on August 14, while ADIC submitted it one day in advance. Both documents cover positions as of June 30. The SEC explained that Form 13F needs to be filed within 45 days of the end of the quarter and covers specific reportable securities for which institutional managers exercise investment decision-making power.

Documents submitted in August cannot be regarded as real-time positions. They do not reflect these entities 'current IBIT positions, bid prices, any direct Bitcoin exposure, or complete investment portfolios. The same balance in March and June does not exclude transactions that occurred during this period; they simply indicate the same net position at the end of the quarter.

Future disclosed increases in the value of the US dollar will not in itself prove new purchases. Only a change in reported holdings can indicate a change in net positions at the end of the quarter.

13F filings provide delayed snapshots of specific reportable securities and may not reflect current positions or the institution's complete investment portfolio. This article is for information reference only and does not constitute investment advice.