Abu Dhabi's Mubadala tells CNBC investing in crypto ecosystem

[DUBAI] Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala has invested in the ecosystem around cryptocurrencies, such as block-chain technology, given the increase in the digital currency's market value, its CEO Khaldoon al-Mubarak told CNBC in an interview.

"I think, you know, this is a business that had, what US$200 billion worth of crypto value two years ago, and it's two and a half trillion dollars today and growing," Mubarak said.

"So I think while many people are sceptics, I don't fall in that category." Mubadala has US$243 billion in assets.

Mubarak did not give any indication of how much the fund would spend, but said the focus was on the related infrastructure.

"From our perspective, I think we look at the ecosystem around crypto. And I think we are investing in that ecosystem.

That could be that's in the block-chain technology, energy usage, etc.," he said.

The rapid growth of cryptocurrencies and in particular stablecoins - digital assets pegged to traditional currencies - has caught the attention of regulators that fear they could put the financial system at risk if not properly monitored.

Financial technology firm Halo Investing said in October it had raised over US$100 million in "Series C" funding from investors such as Owl Capital and the US$1 billion Abu Dhabi Catalyst Partners, which is backed by Mubadala.

REUTERS