- The Royal Government of Bhutan holds 13,011 BTC, making it one of the largest Bitcoin-holding nation-states.
- Arkham Intelligence revealed the nation’s Bitcoin holdings, worth around US$780 million, by identifying the country’s Bitcoin addresses.
- Unlike many governments, Bhutan’s BTC comes from its Bitcoin mining operations rather than law enforcement asset seizures.
You probably haven’t heard of it, but the Royal Government of Bhutan is one of the largest Bitcoin holders.
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Bhutan, a South Asian Buddhist kingdom on the Himalayas’ eastern edge, holds 13,011 BTC, which is around US$780M (AU$1.15B)
Arkham Intelligence first reported the news. The analytics platform identified Bhutan’s Bitcoin addresses, making this the first public disclosure of such information.
Arkham stated on X that Bhutan’s BTC comes from Bitcoin mining operations and not from law enforcement asset seizures:
Bhutan is the 4th largest government with Bitcoin holdings on our platform, with over $750M in BTC. Unlike most governments, Bhutan’s BTC does not come from law enforcement asset seizures, but from Bitcoin mining operations, which have ramped up dramatically since early 2023.
ArkhamMoreover, Arkham detailed how Bhutan has constructed Bitcoin mining facilities across multiple locations, with the largest being on the now-defunct Education City Project site, the firm said.
We were able to corroborate the timeline of on-chain mining activity with time-lapse satellite imagery of facility construction.
Arkham
Bhutan’s investment arm, Druk Holdings, manages its Bitcoin mining activities. In May 2023, Druk Holding & Investments partnered with Bitdeer to establish a completely carbon-free Bitcoin mining operation in Bhutan.
Earlier this year, it was reported that Druk Holding & Investments and Bitdeer were scaling up their mining capacity from 100 to 600 megawatts. Bhutan’s focus on sustainable mining leverages its rich hydropower resources, making the country an ideal location for environmentally friendly mining activities.
El Salvador, Ukraine, Germany, the UK, China, and the US are the other countries holding massive reserves of Bitcoin, with the vast majority obtaining their BTC through law enforcement.
El Salvador was arguably the country that caused the most controversy of them all after adopting BTC as a legal tender, with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) heavily criticising this decision.
Related: IMF Shifts Crypto Policy Stance, Highlights Progress in El Salvador
Fast-forward to today, the IMF stated that the nation’s investment in Bitcoin has been “more successful than it expected”.
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