Emirates NBD, the second-largest bank in the United Arab Emirates by assets, holds approximately $272 billion on its balance sheet and serves over 9 million customers. In an interview on CNBC yesterday, its Chief Investment Officer, Maurice Gravier, described Bitcoin as "digital gold."
The bank is exploring a small allocation to Bitcoin within its investment portfolio, targeting an initial range of 0.5% to 1%. Its internal models place Bitcoin’s fair value near $100,000 over the next twelve months.
Calling Bitcoin “digital gold” places it in the same category as a reserve asset — something held for long-term value preservation. Gold has historically served as a hedge against currency debasement and geopolitical instability. Gravier cited Bitcoin’s limited supply, proof-of-work security framework, and low inflation characteristics as the fundamental attributes underpinning its case as digital gold. He also noted that the bank is focused exclusively on Bitcoin rather than other networks, citing its singular role as a monetary asset, which makes it less susceptible to disruption.
However, recent performance has pushed Bitcoin further away from gold’s hedge characteristics, according to Adam Morgan McCarthy, Head of Research at Kaiko. “The digital gold narrative hasn’t held up well over the past few months, and major proponents such as Larry Fink and others have been promoting it less. This is typical during Bitcoin cycles, but what’s notable now is that gold itself is trading near all-time highs despite turbulence earlier this month. The stark contrast highlights gold’s unmatched status in the safe-haven category for now,” he said in an email.
The broader regulatory environment in the UAE has been supportive of digital assets. Dubai established the Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (VARA) in 2022 — the world’s first dedicated virtual asset regulator — to oversee digital asset activity and position the emirate as a regulated crypto hub. Stablecoin transaction volumes in the Middle East now exceed those of Visa and Mastercard combined, underscoring how rapidly digital assets have scaled across the region.
Since the approval of U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs in January 2024, institutional access has only expanded. BlackRock and Fidelity introduced regulated products that allow exposure without direct custody. The Abu Dhabi Investment Council separately increased its holdings in BlackRock’s iShares Bitcoin Trust. The internal debate inside large institutions has shifted from whether Bitcoin belongs in portfolios to how it should be modeled. Emirates NBD’s move, even at the conservative end, follows a pattern of Gulf institutional accumulation.
For a bank with a $272 billion balance sheet, even a 0.5% allocation would represent over $1 billion in exposure. The move suggests that Bitcoin continues to find its way into institutional portfolios even amid one of its sharpest corrections.