Leading figures from the cryptocurrency industry descended on Abu Dhabi last week, aiming to secure investments from wealthy Emirati investors and sovereign wealth funds to revitalize a sector experiencing a prolonged slowdown. The primary lure was speculation that representatives from a massive $330 billion UAE sovereign wealth fund were present in the city during concurrent crypto conferences, though attendees reportedly found them elusive.
Michael Saylor, founder and Executive Chairman of MicroStrategy, was a central figure at the Bitcoin MENA conference. He confirmed his presence, stating he was in the Gulf region pitching his company's strategy to "hundreds of investors," including sovereign wealth funds. Saylor presented MicroStrategy as a "rocket fueled by Bitcoin" targeting a "$20 Trillion Idea," a necessary push as the firm's stock price has declined by more than half since mid-year.
Other entities actively seeking capital included Metaplanet, the Japanese firm that pivoted to Bitcoin investment, which announced a new preferred-share fundraising project called "MARS." Also present were Dominari Holdings (an investment bank linked to the Trump family) and the investment division of South Korea's Hanwha Group, which stated its intent to make Abu Dhabi a key hub for its crypto product expansion.
The event highlighted the UAE's growing crypto appetite. Binance recently received full authorization from Abu Dhabi's financial regulator to operate its global trading system from the capital. Furthermore, a division of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund disclosed in November it had tripled its Bitcoin investment to a position worth roughly $518 million and held another $567 million in a Bitcoin ETF.
Local experts, however, tempered expectations. Basil Al Askari, co-founder of Mubadala-backed brokerage MidChains, emphasized that securing investments from major UAE funds typically requires years of relationship-building and local commitment, not quick deals. This sentiment was echoed by Samantha Bohbot of venture firm RockawayX, which labeled the UAE "the new Wall Street of digital finance," stressing that investors seek substantive, long-term engagement.
