Spending $500 billion, Qatar's "national team" invests heavily in Bitcoin?
Original author: Lorna Blount, CoinDesk
Original compilation: Frank, Foresight News
Recently, rumors about Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund investing heavily in Bitcoin have surfaced again.
At the important juncture when Bitcoin broke through the historical high of $69,000, on-chain analysts noticed a new address holding more than 50,000 Bitcoins (valued at more than $3.5 billion). Since the address has been buying and selling multiple times a day for several weeks, He deposited 100 Bitcoins, so he was nicknamed Mr 100.
Many people speculate that this may be Qatar seeking to diversify its sovereign wealth fund portfolio, or a mysterious billionaire, or a bank planning to launch a spot Bitcoin ETF to accumulate BTC in advance.
$500 billion invested in BTC?
The rumor that Qatars sovereign wealth fund will invest $500 billion in BTC originally originated from a tweet posted by Bitcoin maximalist Max Keiser in December 2023, which claimed that the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) may spend $500 billion. USD Investing in Bitcoin.
Max Keiser, previously known for his involvement in El Salvador’s Bitcoin investment strategy, suggested in a tweet that the market would be greatly affected. This statement sparked heated discussions on X and helped boost the price of Bitcoin.
He also said on Wealth funds are considering buying $500 billion in Bitcoin.
Then SkyBridge Capital founder and CEO Anthony Scaramucci responded to Keiser’s latest tweet and added fuel to the fire by saying: “It’s happening!!!”
Anthony Scaramucci just recently predicted that Bitcoin will rise to at least $170,000 after the halving next month. He posted on X, “The implication of Max Keiser is that Qatar may have added Bitcoin to its balance sheet. coins, if it is true, we can only say thank you to Max Keiser!
However, it should be noted that all support for this statement is indirect evidence: the Emir of Qatar’s private jet “Qatar Gulfstream G 650 ER” was spotted flying to the Bitcoin Atlantis conference in Madeira, Portugal, earlier this month. (Foresight News notes that the Emir is the head of state of Qatar and holds the highest power in the country).
Amid this speculation, experts believe that claims of Qatari government-level investment in Bitcoin are becoming increasingly credible. CoinDesk 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 investments.
Talal Tabbaa, CEO of Qatar’s regional cryptocurrency exchange CoinMENA, emphasized in an interview that the landscape is changing and even sovereign states may consider Bitcoin as a viable component of their financial strategy:
“Given that BlackRock has purchased 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 digital level
It is worth noting that the initially rumored investment of US$500 billion actually far exceeds the US$475 billion asset management scale disclosed by the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA), making this rumored BTC investment unlikely.
For comparison, MicroStrategy holds about 205,000 Bitcoins, estimated to be worth about $14 billion at current prices, but it took them several years to gradually accumulate so many Bitcoins. If Max Keiser’s rumors are true, then 5,000 A $100 million purchase would be extremely difficult on an operational level because each purchase requires a large seller.
Imagine that if you really directly acquire an asset share equivalent to 40% of the current total market value of Bitcoin, it will inevitably cause a series of obvious problems. You must know that Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, only holds Bitcoin worth About $14 billion.
However, as Tabbaa said, speculative dollar figures alone cannot be relied upon as a reliable basis for potential Bitcoin investments. We “cannot sense, verify or verify these numbers.”
Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) CEO Mansoor bin Ebrahim Al-Mahmoud publicly stated in 2022 that the fund had no interest in cryptocurrency investments. However, Tabbaa cautioned against viewing regulatory caution as outright opposition to all forms of digital asset investment, and suggested there may be a distinction between public regulatory stances and private investment strategies:
Financial regulators aim to protect investors, while investment funds - whether sovereign or non-sovereign, are looking for returns, and buying Bitcoin makes sense in this context.
The Current State of Crypto Regulation in Qatar
As of now, Qatar has not legalized cryptocurrencies. Previously, Qatar’s central bank made Bitcoin transactions illegal due to volatility, potential financial crime risks, and lack of underlying asset support. Qatari officials have repeatedly emphasized the need to safeguard the financial system and maintain the economy. Stablize.
However, Qatar is also working to establish a complex regulatory framework for digital assets, focusing on investment tokens anchored in real assets. It should be noted that this framework currently does not include stablecoins, central bank digital currencies (CBDC) and Other forms of cryptocurrency.
Tabbaa said that despite Qatar’s cautious regulatory approach, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, led by the UAE and Bahrain, is actively taking steps to position itself as a “global cryptocurrency hub.” Among them, Dubai’s Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) is the world’s first independent cryptocurrency regulatory agency, and Abu Dhabi is also promoting the development of Bitcoin mining operations in the region.
“The United States may have taken the biggest step forward by launching a spot Bitcoin ETF, but I am still very optimistic about the growth of digital assets in the MENA region.”
