The United Arab Emirates has mined approximately $453.6 million in Bitcoin through its affiliated entity, data from Arkham shows. The sovereign holdings, managed via partner Citadel, have realized significant unrealized gains, with minimal outflows over recent months. This activity positions the UAE as a notable sovereign entity in the global Bitcoin mining sector, following infrastructure expansions with firms like Marathon Digital Holdings.
New data from Arkham indicates the UAE has mined around $453.6 million in Bitcoin through its partner, Citadel. The government continues to hold most of this Bitcoin, with the last significant outflow occurring four months ago.
Excluding energy costs, the country holds approximately $344 million in unrealized profits from this activity. This development marks the evolution of the UAE’s mining operations into a strategic reserve phenomenon.
The UAE began expanding its mining sector in 2022 with the establishment of facilities by Citadel Mining on Al Reem Island. The sector grew further in 2023 through a joint venture between Marathon Digital Holdings and Zero Two, which deployed 250 megawatts of immersion-cooled mining capacity.
The updated data revises earlier estimates for August 2025, which were previously around $700 million worth of mined Bitcoin. The UAE Royal Group currently holds 6,782 BTC, equivalent to 0.03% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply.
Other nations are also engaged in sovereign Bitcoin activities. Bhutan started mining in 2019 using hydroelectric power, with its reserves exceeding $1 billion at peak market value. The United States holds the largest amount of seized Bitcoin, with 328,000 BTC valued at $22 billion from various confiscations.
According to Arkham, the U.S. government recently seized another 127,000 BTC from the LuBian Hacker. The United Kingdom is the second-largest sovereign holder of seized funds, with 61,000 BTC valued at $4 billion.
Other countries like Ukraine and Germany have also held or sold seized Bitcoin. The UAE’s activities point to a sovereign strategy based on infrastructure and reserve growth within the digital asset space.
