Arkham: Marked a $740 million Bitcoin holding address in the UAE, primarily obtained through mining by the mining company Citadel

ChainCatcher news, Arkham posted on social media that relevant addresses in the United Arab Emirates have now been marked.

The UAE's $700 million Bitcoin holdings have now been annotated on the platform. These holdings originate from Citadel's Bitcoin mining operations—this publicly listed mining company is controlled by the UAE Royal Group through the International Holding Company (IHC).

Arkham stated that the UAE is the fourth largest government entity holding Bitcoin on the platform, with a total BTC holding value of nearly $740 million. Unlike the United States and the United Kingdom, the UAE's Bitcoin does not come from police asset seizures but is generated through mining operations in collaboration with Citadel. To date, approximately 9,300 BTC have been mined, and at least about 6,300 BTC are still held.

85% of Citadel's shares are held by 2pointzero, which is 100% owned by IHC. Approximately 61% of IHC's shares are held by the UAE Royal Group, which is controlled by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a member of the Abu Dhabi royal family.

By collaborating with Phoenix Group (a UAE-listed mining company) and the government-owned IHC, Citadel built an 80,000 square meter Bitcoin mining facility on Al Reem Island in Abu Dhabi in 6 months in 2022. Satellite imagery of the mining facility construction corroborates the timeline of on-chain mining activities. On-chain transactions between Phoenix Group and Citadel also match the officially disclosed amounts. Phoenix Group has also been annotated on the platform, with its BTC holdings valued at $3.2 million.