Bitcoin adoption is gaining traction globally, and South Asia has become the latest country to embrace digital currency. Bhutan, officially known as the Kingdom of Bhutan, is between China and India and has revealed its Bitcoin exposure.
Bhutan’s Unique Mining Approach
According to Arkham Intelligence, a top blockchain intelligence company, the Bhutan government’s Bitcoin exposure amounts to $750 million. In a post on X, Arkham says it is the first blockchain intelligence firm to identify wallet addresses.
Arkham’s data shows that the Royal Government of Bhutan has a total of 13,029 BTC valued at $756,941,898.39. This exposure to BTC is in addition to its interests in other altcoins. Notably, Bhutan also has a significant holding of Ethereum.
The country’s asset of the only altcoin bagged from its spot ETF (exchange-traded funds) exposure stands at 656.013 ETH and is valued at $1.51 million. Notably, unlike in other countries, Bhutan’s BTC accumulation was mined through its own Bitcoin mining operations.
None of the over 13,000 BTCs were products of asset seizures or law enforcement activities. Druk Holdings, the government’s investment arm, started Bitcoin mining early in 2023 and ramped up efforts by constructing mining facilities in several locations in the country.
Arkham’s satellite image shows Bhutan’s largest mining facility, built on a former Education City project site. With this, Bhutan becomes the fourth-largest Bitcoin holder among governments profiled on Arkham’s platform.
Bhutan’s Ranking Against Bitcoin-Rich Nations
Bhutan joins a bandwagon of other governments with sizable Bitcoin holdings. According to a report from Coingecko, governments worldwide held 2.2% of Bitcoin’s total supply as of the end of July this year. This accounted for 471,380.6 BTC, valued at $32.7 billion.
However, most of these were seized from criminal actors, while others were donations or government purchases. The United States of America leads with 213,246 BTC, acquired mainly from the shutting down of Silk Road, an online black market.
China follows with 190,000 BTC seized from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme. The United Kingdom’s 61,000 BTC accumulations came from a crackdown on money laundering activities.
Others include El Salvador, which uses BTC as its legal tender, with 5,800 BTC. These accumulations were part of the country’s financial plan. Ukraine has 1,334.6 BTC from donations to support its war efforts against Russia.
Although the German government enforced crypto-linked laws and confiscated 46,359 BTC worth approximately $3.02 billion in 2013, those holdings have been liquidated. The German government sales of these BTC flooded the crypto market and impacted price performance. BTC’s price crashed significantly from about $64,000 to $54,500.
Implications for Future Bitcoin Adoption
Bhutan’s recent government holdings of Bitcoin pivot away from the usual acquisition by law enforcement action. While El Salvador actively purchased its BTC, Bhutan’s accumulated through mining operations.
This development could spur other governments to consider investing in digital assets as a hedge against inflation. Notably, when more governments embrace BTC, they likely regulate crypto assets to protect their holdings. This will improve the asset’s security and provide investors with a more secure crypto ecosystem.
