Qatar's Sovereign Fund Might Buy Nearly $500 Billion in Bitcoin

Rumors of a major investment in Bitcoin by the Qatar Sovereign Wealth Fund have resurfaced in recent days, with Bitcoin extremists like Max Keizer spreading rumors that the QIA (Qatar Investment Authority) will purchase $500 billion in Bitcoin. QIA has not directly responded to its investment initiative, but reiterated its focus on blockchain technology over direct investments in cryptocurrencies. Talal Tabbaa, CEO of CoinMENA, the first regional cryptocurrency exchange to enter the Qatari market, said that even sovereign states may see Bitcoin as a viable part of their financial strategy, and that with BlackRock acquiring more than 200,000 Bitcoins in the last six weeks, any government contemplating allocating large amounts of money to Bitcoin is completely normal. The initially rumored $500 billion investment is higher than the $475 billion Assets Under Management (AUM) size that the QIA reported holding, so it is unlikely that the size of the investment will materialize.