Fake news? UAE reportedly owns Bitcoin worth €36 billion

According to Changpeng Zhao (CZ), founder of Binance, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) may have purchased Bitcoin worth €36 billion. However, there is much criticism of this claim and many people are calling it Fake News".

A post on CZ's X (formerly Twitter) has reinforced rumors that the UAE has acquired Bitcoin worth €36 billion. By comparison, the company MicroStrategy has collected about 439,000 BTC since 2020, amounting to €42 billion.

Global Bitcoin holdings

If CZ's information is correct, the UAE would be be the country with the most Bitcoin holdings. Currently, the United States tops the list with 200,000 BTC (€19.2 billion), followed by China with 194,000 BTC (€18.6 billion).

The message is unlikely to be true. CZ referred to a blog article that itself refers to a post on X, which in turn refers to another blog article without clear source citation. This lack of reliable sources makes it difficult to verify the claim.

Comment by Changpeng Zhao

When CZ confronted the source, he said, "I have also wondered how they arrived at the exact amount; it is difficult to gather that data. It's higher than I expected, but there are also a lot of wealthy people here [in the UAE]."

Many users on X consider the message "Fake News." They are asking for more transparency and reliable information, for example, by sharing on-chain addresses that can confirm possessions.

While the idea that the UAE owns Bitcoin worth €36 billion is interesting, there is currently insufficient evidence to support this claim. It is important to remain critical and wait for reliable sources before believing such rumors.