Royal family-linked mining rigs in the United Arab Emirates are producing roughly 4 BTC per day, transforming state-backed infrastructure into a consistent sovereign bitcoin generator.
According to on-chain data from Arkham, the UAE is sitting on approximately $344 million in unrealized profit from its bitcoin (BTC $68,617.76) mining operations, positioning it as one of the world’s most significant sovereign crypto plays.
Wallets associated with the UAE Royal Group currently hold around 6,782 BTC, valued at roughly $450 million. Excluding energy costs, Arkham notes the holdings are deeply profitable, reflecting the lower-than-average production costs achieved through years of industrial-scale mining compared with purchasing on the open market.
Over the past week, the operation has generated about 4.2 BTC per day, showing that the nation’s mining infrastructure remains active despite bitcoin’s pullback from late-2025 highs and broader market volatility.
The UAE’s mining efforts began in 2022, when Citadel Mining, linked to Abu Dhabi’s royal family through International Holding Company, constructed large-scale facilities on Al Reem Island. In 2023, Marathon Digital (now MARA Holdings) partnered with Abu Dhabi-based Zero Two to develop 250 megawatts of immersion-cooled mining capacity—one of the region’s largest publicly disclosed deployments.
In August, when bitcoin traded at higher levels, Arkham estimated the UAE’s mined holdings were closer to $700 million. The recent $344 million figure reflects both updated wallet tracking and a lower market price, rather than significant sales, with the last major outflows occurring roughly four months ago.
Unlike the U.S. or U.K., where government-held bitcoin mostly comes from asset seizures, the UAE’s holdings are the product of sustained mining. By retaining most of what it produces, the Gulf nation is effectively turning energy and infrastructure into a strategic digital reserve that grows over time.
In a market where many miners have been forced to sell during downturns to fund operations, the UAE appears to be doing the opposite—steadily accumulating bitcoin throughout the drawdown.
