On March 24, the Bhutanese government transferred $63 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC) to three different wallets, as per data from Arkham Intelligence's Onchain Lens. At the time of writing, one of the wallets held approximately 600 BTC, valued at about $53 million.
Since 2019, Bhutan has been utilizing its abundant hydroelectric resources to mine Bitcoin. In September 2024, Arkham Intelligence reported discovering the first Bitcoin wallet linked to Bhutan's state investment agency, Druk Holdings. After the March 24 transfer, the wallet now holds Bitcoin investments worth $889 million.
Statistics show that Bhutan's cryptocurrency holdings account for 30.7% of its GDP, with the country's GDP standing at $2.9 billion in 2023, according to World Bank data. While Bitcoin is the dominant digital asset held by the government, Bhutan doesn't appear to pursue a strategy based solely on Bitcoin. Other assets in Druk Holdings' wallet include Ethereum (ETH) worth $334,580, along with smaller holdings in LinqAI (LNQ), Phil (PHIL), and Apu Apustaja (APU).
In October 2024, Bhutan transferred $66 million worth of Bitcoin to Binance. Over the past two months, the Bhutanese government has been transferring small amounts of Bitcoin and Ethereum from its primary wallet to other addresses.
Bhutan is not the only government implementing cryptocurrency reserves, with countries such as El Salvador and the United States actively increasing their Bitcoin holdings. Bhutan’s strategy underscores its long-term confidence and active management of digital assets.