UAE Emirates NBD one day will invest 0.5 percent to 1 percent in Bitcoin
UAE headquartered Emirates NBD, the second-largest bank in the country is interested in allocating some of its investment into Bitcoin. The comments were made by Maurice Gauvier, Group CIO of Emirates NBD during an interview on CNBC.
As per the interview, the bank sees Bitcoin as a store of value and identifies tokenization as a critical financial change. While the bank has yet to buy Bitcoin, Gauvier, noted that it has facilitated the asset in its internal investment process. It is in the process of evaluating the valuation models, macro factor and behavioral before taking any position. He notes, ” We have not pulled the trigger yet, we love Bitcoin, but it needs calibration because it is volatile.”
According to Gauvier, the bank will have an initial allocation ranging between 0.5% to 1% in “balanced” portfolios. He outlined Bitcoin as digital gold because it has a limited supply, a proof-of-work framework for strong security against hacks, and has low inflation characteristics. However, volatility and correlation with the wider risk markets are still issues of concern. The bank reported that these aspects of Bitcoin need careful adjustment prior to capital allocation.
Emirates National Bank CIO also noted that they will only be focusing on Bitcoin, and not Ethereum which is prone to disruption.
UAE has been growing its Bitcoin holding over past years
According to Arkham reports, the UAE now holds $344 million in unrealized profit from Bitcoin mining activity in the country. As per the report wallets tied to UAE Royal Group currently holds 6,782 BTC valued at $454 million. The country’s mining infrastructure has produced around 4.2 $BTC per day over the past seven days, indicating that operations remain active despite $BTC’s decline from late-2025 price levels.
In August 2025, Arkham noted that UAE holdings in Bitcoin were worth $700 million with 6,300 BTC retained out of 9,300 BTC produced. . The current figures reflect updated wallet tracking and lower $BTC prices, not large-scale selling. The most recent notable fund outflow from UAE Royal Group wallets occurred approximately four months ago.
UAE sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, already made an investment in Bitcoin using exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Recently, Mubadala increased its holdings in BlackRock’s Bitcoin ETF (IBIT) by 46% and now owns 12.7 million shares.
Tokenization of private markets is next
As for tokenization Emirates NBD CIO believes that tokenization will soon be used in private markets and conventional securities. This would facilitate discoverable pricing and continuous liquidity for previously illiquid assets.
Gravier also said that remittances and cross-border trade are the reasons for the fast adoption of stablecoin in the Middle East. He claimed that the volume of transactions for dollar-pegged stablecoins is bigger than large card networks like Visa and Mastercard. With Emirates NBD serving a large number of expatriates as clients, it regards stablecoins as very important for payment rails and not a mere trend.
The bank has been supportive of tokenization and digital assets. Recently Ctrl Alt, a leading financial engineering and tokenization platform that utilizes blockchain technology, with offices in the UK and Ireland, has set up its office in Dubai UAE in DMCC ( Dubai Multi Commodities Center), after partnering with Emirates NBD.
