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Bhutan Becomes 4th Largest Government Bitcoin Holder with $780 Million in BTC

Unlike other major Bitcoin holders who acquired their assets through seizures or purchases like El Salvador, Bhutan has built its reserve through mining.

Avatar image of Jonathan Agozie Jonathan Agozie•September 16, 2024
bitcoins in bag

On September 16, on-chain data from the blockchain analytics firm Arkham revealed that the Kingdom of Bhutan holds over 13,000 BTC, valued at over $750 million. This places Bhutan fourth in the list of governments holding BTC, behind El Salvador, the United States, China, and the United Kingdom.

Bhutan’s Bitcoin reserves are part of the broader trend of national governments collectively controlling over 2.2% of the total Bitcoin supply.

Bhutan’s Strategic Expansion in Bitcoin Mining

Unlike many top Bitcoin holders who acquired their assets through criminal seizures or daily purchases like El Salvador, Bhutan has built its Bitcoin reserve through mining. Since early 2023, Bhutan has expanded its Bitcoin mining operations significantly. The South Asian nation, using its mountainous terrain, has established multiple mining facilities through its investment arm, Druk Holdings.

In mid-2023, Druk Holdings partnered with Bitdeer to create a carbon-neutral Bitcoin mining operation in Bhutan. The collaboration has leveraged the country’s abundant hydropower resources to support environmentally friendly mining practices. The partnership has boosted Bhutan’s mining capacity from 100 to 600 megawatts, utilizing the country’s eco-friendly resources and geographical advantages.

Additionally, Bhutan repurposed a defunct Education City project into a large-scale crypto-mining facility. While the government has not indicated any plans to sell its Bitcoin, its broader cryptocurrency strategy remains largely undisclosed.

Bhutan’s approach towards Bitcoin suggests that the firm would not sell off its BTC stash like Germany did months ago.

Growing Bitcoin Investments

As global blockchain adoption increases, national balance sheets increasingly intertwine with Bitcoin holdings. The trend accelerated over the past four years, highlighted by El Salvador’s legal endorsement of Bitcoin. The Salvadoran government is set to receive over $1.6 billion from Turkish firm Yilport Holdings to develop its Bitcoin City project and enhance its ports. The investment, which will be phased over time, represents the largest private investment in El Salvador’s history.

In related developments, business intelligence firm MicroStrategy, the largest corporate Bitcoin holder, increased its Bitcoin stash with a significant purchase. According to CoinTab, MicroStrategy acquired an additional 18,300 bitcoins for approximately $1.11 billion, with an average price of $60,409 per bitcoin. The company now holds 244,800 bitcoins, valued at nearly $9.45 billion.

At the time of this writing, MicroStrategy revealed plans to raise $700 million, of which portions will be used to buy more BTC.

Jonathan Agozie

Jonathan Agozie is a prompt engineer committed to crafting clear and technically sound content on blockchain, cryptocurrency, and Web3 technologies.