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Wealthy families across the Gulf Cooperation Council are increasingly allocating to Bitcoin and digital assets as a $1 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer empowers younger heirs to modernize portfolios traditionally dominated by real estate and oil-linked investments.
Leading the shift are Abdulaziz and Abdulla Kanoo, 28-year-old twin brothers from Bahrain’s prominent Kanoo family, who convinced their family office to invest in Bitcoin in 2020 despite initial resistance from senior advisors, according to Bloomberg.
Their success story is emblematic of a larger pattern: Gulf heirs crypto adoption is being driven by a younger generation eager to modernize portfolios long dominated by real estate, oil-linked assets, and blue-chip equities.
The Kanoo twins have since launched a dedicated digital asset investment firm, offering crypto portfolio management services to other family offices and institutional clients across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The firm seeks to bridge traditional wealth management with Web3 opportunities such as tokenized assets and blockchain-based yield strategies.
The movement comes amid an unprecedented $1 trillion intergenerational wealth transfer expected across the Middle East, according to Citigroup and Barclays Wealth. This shift is empowering millennial and Gen Z family members to explore digital assets, hedge funds, and ESG-aligned investments.
Younger heirs are comfortable with blockchain technology and see Bitcoin as a legitimate diversification tool, not a speculative play, said Bhaskar Dasgupta, head of Middle East operations at Apex Group.
The UAE particularly Dubai and Abu Dhabi has become a global magnet for hedge funds and digital asset firms. Over 70 hedge funds now operate in Dubai, while Abu Dhabi has attracted global powerhouses such as Brevan Howard and Marshall Wace.
While enthusiasm for crypto is rising, Middle Eastern portfolios remain relatively conservative. A Campden Wealth report, supported by HSBC, found that regional family offices still hold most of their assets in liquid instruments and property, though allocations to alternative assets, including crypto and hedge funds, have grown steadily since 2021.
Gulf families are diversifying, but they’re doing it on their own terms, said Edwin Lawrence, managing partner at Nettlestone Capital Advisors. They conduct their own due diligence and prefer smaller, high-impact allocations that allow them to test new strategies without overexposing their portfolios.
This pragmatic approach has given rise to hybrid investment vehicles, combining hedge fund risk management with crypto’s asymmetric upside. Such structures appeal to younger family members, many of whom studied abroad and witnessed the global rise of institutional crypto investing firsthand.
Meanwhile, Gulf heirs crypto adoption has expanded beyond Bitcoin. Some family offices now explore tokenized real estate, digital bonds, and Web3 startups signaling confidence in blockchain’s long-term utility.
Another factor accelerating Gulf heirs crypto adoption is the UAE’s progressive regulatory stance. The Virtual Asset Regulatory Authority (VARA) in Dubai and Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) have built clear frameworks for digital asset licensing, fostering institutional trust.
Dubai’s VARA model has become a benchmark for responsible crypto regulation, said Dr. Hanan Al-Shamsi, fintech consultant at Gulf Blockchain Council. It gives family offices the confidence to participate legally and strategically.
This environment has also attracted major international players. In a recent development, Bloomberg reported that an Abu Dhabi state-backed investment firm plans to inject $2 billion into Binance through USD1, a stablecoin issued by World Liberty Financial, a venture with ties to the Trump family.
Experts argue that such moves, combined with Dubai’s emerging Web3 ecosystem, position the UAE as a global safe haven for digital wealth especially as the EU’s MiCA regulation tightens compliance requirements across Europe.
Beyond profit motives, younger heirs are redefining wealth stewardship around sustainability, innovation, and technological literacy. Kevin Chalhoub, 31, of the Chalhoub Group, has championed ESG investing and launched an EV rental platform in Dubai, reflecting how social responsibility and digital innovation now coexist in Gulf portfolios.
The Gulf heirs crypto adoption trend thus represents more than financial diversification as it’s a cultural and generational realignment. As governance models evolve and wealth transitions to younger hands, the region’s family offices are likely to play an even greater role in global crypto and digital asset markets.
Family wealth in the Gulf is no longer just about preservation as it’s about participation, said Abdulaziz Kanoo. Digital assets are simply the next frontier of that evolution.
