Standard Asset Company has announced an anticipated $1.5 billion strategy combining a Coinbase-managed Bitcoin reserve with UAE real estate investments, with a Dubai royal family member among its backers.
Summary
- Standard Asset Company plans to combine Bitcoin holdings with investments in UAE real estate.
- Coinbase Asset Management will exclusively manage the company’s Bitcoin reserve.
- Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum is among its advisers and shareholders.
- The company’s published strategy describes phased Bitcoin purchases and managed yield.
Standard Asset Company’s announcement, published by Gulf News on Oct. 27, places its headquarters in Abu Dhabi Global Market. The proposed investment portfolio covers both digital assets and property, without specifying the amount allocated to each.
Standard Asset Company appoints Coinbase to manage Bitcoin
Coinbase Asset Management has been appointed exclusive manager of SAC’s Bitcoin holdings, according to the announcement.
SAC lists Sheikh Mohammed Bin Maktoum Bin Juma Al Maktoum, a member of Dubai’s royal family, among its advisers and shareholders. Other participants include former White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, Coinbase Institutional co-CEO Brett Tejpaul and British House of Lords member Lord Iain McNicol.
“We are excited to support SAC as their exclusive Bitcoin asset manager,” Tejpaul said in the announcement.
The sheikh said returns from the digital asset strategy would support hospitality and real estate investments in the Emirates.
Bitcoin purchases are planned in phases
SAC’s published strategy describes a long-term Bitcoin reserve built through phased purchases, with entry decisions based on valuation and available liquidity. Its proposed managed yield strategy seeks income while accounting for liquidity and counterparty exposure.
Retained proceeds would support further reserve purchases and selected property funding, according to the strategy description. On the real estate side, the company identifies UAE hospitality assets and branded residences as its investment focus.
The strategy describes custody arrangements, reconciliation of assets, and controls over transfers as parts of its Bitcoin oversight. SAC presents yield as an investment objective subject to market and strategy risk, without promising a return.
In its corporate disclosures, SAC identifies Standard Asset Co. as the trading name of Standard Proprietary Company Ltd., with ADGM registration number 32213. The business describes itself as a proprietary investment company managing assets for its own account.
The disclosures state that SAC is not a licensed financial services provider and does not offer investment management or financial advisory services to third parties. They specify that ADGM incorporation does not itself provide financial services authorization or regulatory approval for an investment.
Its website describes the material as information for discussion, without offering securities or recommending an investment product. No public securities offering is contemplated through the website, according to its legal disclosures, which warn that digital asset investors can lose their invested capital.
UAE banks and developers offer other crypto services
As crypto.news reported on Oct. 14, Standard Chartered introduced direct cryptocurrency trading for eligible wealthy UAE clients through their existing bank accounts.
The bank’s announcement confirms that the service received licensing approval from Dubai’s Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority and initially targets Professional Investor clients. Customers use the bank’s platform without establishing separate exchange accounts or personal cryptocurrency wallets.
Developed with SC Ventures-backed Zodia Markets, the offering uses a closed-loop model in which Standard Chartered handles custody and settlement. The bank said it plans to bring the service to other markets, without naming locations or setting a launch schedule.
Before introducing direct trading, Standard Chartered offered eligible wealth clients access to cryptocurrency ETFs through its cash equities platform, along with structured products and over-the-counter derivatives, according to its release.
In September 2025, RAK Properties partnered with Hubpay to accept cryptocurrency property payments from international buyers. The arrangement supported Bitcoin, Ether, and USDT, with payments converted immediately into UAE dirhams and deposited in the developer’s accounts.
Reporting on the agreement identified Hubpay and its VARA-licensed partners as the transaction processors. The initiative targeted international purchasers, including buyers in RAK Properties’ Mina Al Arab community in Ras Al Khaimah.
Kevin Kilty, Hubpay’s chief executive, described the partnership as a way for the developer to reach global buyers through regulated payment infrastructure. RAK Properties’ chief financial officer, Rahul Jogani, said accepting digital assets would help the business engage customers already investing in cryptocurrency.
Coinbase’s US mortgage partnership uses Bitcoin collateral
In the United States, Coinbase and Better Mortgage announced general availability of their Bitcoin-backed home financing product on Aug. 26. Better originates and services the loans, while Coinbase supplies infrastructure for transferring and holding the cryptocurrency collateral.
The product combines a conventional first-lien mortgage with a separate Bitcoin-secured loan that supplies the down payment. Reporting on the terms showed applicants needed Bitcoin worth at least 250% of the down payment amount.
Borrowers cannot trade or withdraw the pledged coins while Better controls the collateral. According to the published terms, daily Bitcoin price changes do not trigger margin calls, but Better can liquidate the collateral once loan payments become 60 days delinquent.
Better’s announcement made eligible Coinbase One members entitled to a lender-funded closing credit equal to 1% of their mortgage value, capped at $10,000. The offer covers qualifying standard mortgages, home equity lines of credit, and refinancing products, with Better paying the credit and recording it on the borrower’s closing disclosure.
