Rumors have been circulating on the internet that the United Arab Emirates (UAE) might be sitting on $40 billion worth of bitcoin. If true, that would make the UAE one of the biggest holders of the leading digital asset.
But for now, this is unverified and experts are debating its validity.
It all began with a tweet from Changpeng Zhao (CZ), the founder of Binance, who shared an article saying the UAE has 411,978 BTC, worth $40 billion.
That tweet got the Bitcoin community’s attention, including Irina Heaver, a lawyer who questioned the article’s credibility. She said the article had no evidence and might be AI generated.
Heaver asked CZ about this and he replied, “I also wondered how they came up with the exact number; it’s challenging to collect.” He said the number exceeded his expectation but not entirely impossible given the wealth in the UAE.
Although the number is unverified, several things in the UAE make the idea of the country being heavily invested in bitcoin plausible. Over the past year the UAE has been making big moves to be a global leader in blockchain and digital currencies:
- AE Coin: The UAE launched its own stablecoin, AE Coin, pegged to the Dirham. This is part of the UAE Government Digital Strategy 2025 to boost the digital economy.
- Tax Exemptions: The Federal Tax Authority exempted digital assets from value added tax (VAT) retroactive from 2018.
- Salaries in Digital Currencies: A Dubai court allowed salaries to be paid in digital assets. More proof the country is Bitcoin friendly.
- Digital Asset Inflows and Market Growth: Between 2023 and mid-2024 the UAE saw $34 billion in digital asset inflows, 19% of which was bitcoin.
Commentators from digital assets community are still debating the validity of the rumor. Bitcoin Archive, a well known Bitcoin news source, called the $40 billion claim “fake news” and said there’s no evidence.
