500 billion US dollars invested in BTC. Has Qatar’s sovereign fund also made a move?

Recently, rumors about Qatar's sovereign wealth fund investing heavily in Bitcoin have surfaced again.

When Bitcoin broke through the important threshold of its all-time high of $69,000, on-chain analysts noticed a new address holding more than 50,000 bitcoins (worth more than $3.5 billion). Because the address purchased 100 bitcoins every day for several weeks, it was nicknamed "Mr 100".

Many speculated that this might be Qatar seeking to diversify its sovereign wealth fund portfolio, or a mysterious billionaire, or perhaps a bank accumulating BTC in advance in preparation for launching a spot Bitcoin ETF.

$500 billion invested in BTC?

The rumor that "Qatar's sovereign wealth fund will invest $500 billion in BTC" originally originated from a tweet by Bitcoin maximalist Max Keiser in December 2023, which claimed that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) might invest $500 billion in Bitcoin.

Max Keiser, previously known for his involvement in El Salvador’s Bitcoin investment strategy, tweeted a hint of a huge market impact, which sparked a heated discussion on X and helped boost Bitcoin prices.

He also said on X: "For those who believe that Bitcoin is going to rise to $100,000, I have only one word for you - Qatar, the rumors about them are becoming more and more real, and it is reported that their sovereign wealth fund is considering buying $500 billion in Bitcoin."

Anthony Scaramucci, founder and CEO of SkyBridge Capital, then responded to Keiser's latest tweet and added fuel to the fire by saying: "It's happening!!!"

Anthony Scaramucci, who recently predicted that Bitcoin will rise to at least $170,000 after the halving next month, posted on Xcode that "Max Keiser's implication is that Qatar may have added Bitcoin to its balance sheet. If this is true, we can only say thank you to Max Keiser!"

But it should be noted that the evidence supporting this statement is all indirect: the Qatari Emir’s private jet, the Qatar Gulfstream G650ER, was spotted earlier this month flying to the Portuguese island of Madeira to attend the Bitcoin Atlantis Conference (Foresight News Note: The Emir is the head of state of Qatar and holds the highest power in the country).

Amid this speculation, experts believe that the claim that Qatari government-level investment in Bitcoin is becoming more and more credible. CoinDesk once contacted the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) for comment. A QIA spokesperson remained silent on specific investment trends and reiterated their focus on blockchain technology rather than direct cryptocurrency investment.

In an interview, Talal Tabbaa, CEO of Qatar-based regional cryptocurrency exchange CoinMENA, stressed that the landscape is shifting and that even sovereign states may see Bitcoin as a viable component of their financial strategies:

"Given that BlackRock has bought over 200,000 bitcoins in the past six weeks, it makes perfect sense for any government to consider investing large amounts of money in bitcoin."

Trustworthy inference based on numbers

It is worth noting that the initially rumored investment amount of $500 billion actually far exceeds the $475 billion in assets under management disclosed by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), making this rumored BTC investment unlikely.

In comparison, MicroStrategy holds approximately 205,000 bitcoins, which are worth approximately $14 billion at current prices, but they have spent years gradually accumulating so many bitcoins. If Max Keiser's rumors are true, then a $500 billion purchase would be extremely difficult at an operational level because each purchase would require a large seller.

Imagine if a direct acquisition of assets equivalent to 40% of Bitcoin's current total market value were to occur, it would inevitably lead to a series of obvious problems . It should be noted that Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange, holds Bitcoin worth only about $14 billion.

However, as Tabbaa said, speculative figures alone cannot be used as a reliable basis for potential Bitcoin investments, as we "cannot sense, verify or validate these numbers."

Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud, CEO of the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), publicly stated in 2022 that the fund had no interest in cryptocurrency investments. However, Tabbaa warned against interpreting regulatory caution as a complete opposition to all forms of digital asset investment, suggesting that there may be a distinction between public regulatory stances and private investment strategies:

"Financial regulators aim to protect investors, while investment funds - both sovereign and non-sovereign - are looking for returns, in which case buying Bitcoin makes sense."

The Current State of Crypto Regulation in Qatar

As of now, Qatar has not legalized cryptocurrencies. Previously, the Qatar Central Bank made Bitcoin transactions illegal due to volatility, potential financial crime risks and lack of underlying asset support. Qatari officials have repeatedly stressed the need to protect the financial system and maintain economic stability.

However, Qatar is also working to establish a complex regulatory framework for digital assets, focusing on investment tokens anchored to physical assets. It should be noted that the framework currently does not include stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and other forms of cryptocurrencies.

Tabbaa said that despite Qatar’s cautious regulatory approach, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, led by the UAE and Bahrain, is taking steps to position itself as a “global cryptocurrency hub.” Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) is the world’s first independent cryptocurrency regulator, and Abu Dhabi is also promoting the development of Bitcoin mining operations in the region.

“The U.S. may have taken the biggest step by launching a spot Bitcoin ETF, but I remain very optimistic about the growth of digital assets in the MENA region.”