Standard Asset Company (SAC) has opened its headquarters in the Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) and appointed Coinbase Asset Management as the exclusive manager of its Bitcoin holdings. The firm announced on October 27 that the move is part of a planned $1.5 billion investment strategy combining a Bitcoin reserve with hotels and branded residences in the UAE, and it positions the company to connect digital asset management with traditional property investments.
The legal entity behind the brand is Standard Proprietary Company Ltd., founded by Sakhib Waseem, Adam Ali and Mason Borda. Waseem and Ali come from advisory firm Verdant Partners, while Borda founded Tokensoft. Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai's ruling family and chairman of Alpha MBM Investments, is listed as an adviser and shareholder. He said the Coinbase arrangement would bring institutional discipline to the firm's digital asset holdings, with returns intended to flow into UAE hospitality and property. Brett Tejpaul, co-CEO of Coinbase Institutional, also holds an advisory or shareholder role and highlighted the UAE's growing role in global digital asset adoption.
Coinbase Asset Management, led by president Anthony Bassili, a former BlackRock executive, will oversee the Bitcoin side. SAC's website describes phased BTC purchases and a managed yield strategy, with retained proceeds recycled into more Bitcoin or property. However, the company has not disclosed the Bitcoin share of the $1.5 billion platform, its current BTC holdings, whether capital has been fully raised, a dated purchase schedule, or specific target properties.
SAC describes itself as a proprietary company investing its own capital and states that it is not a licensed financial services provider. Therefore its ADGM address should not be read as proof of an asset management licence, though managing director Sakhib Waseem said ADGM's regulatory clarity made it the natural base. The announcement creates no measurable Bitcoin buying pressure yet, because there is no confirmed allocation or acquisition schedule. For Coinbase, the deal extends its asset management arm into a separately managed mandate tied to Gulf property, at a time when competition for wealthy UAE clients is intensifying.
