Qatar sovereign wealth fund reportedly plans to buy $500 billion in Bitcoin

Rumors of Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund investing heavily in Bitcoin have resurfaced in recent days, with Bitcoin extremists like Max Keizer spreading rumors that the QIA (Qatar Investment Authority) would buy $500 billion in Bitcoin. QIA did not respond directly to its investment move, 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 consider Bitcoin as a viable part of their financial strategy, which BlackRock acquired in the past six weeks. With over 200,000 Bitcoins, it is completely normal for any government to consider allocating significant amounts of money to Bitcoin. The initially rumored $500 billion investment was higher than the $475 billion in assets under management (AUM) reported by QIA, so the investment is unlikely to be as large as rumored.