KEY POINTS
- Bhutan’s $BTC holdings were worth over $700 million in September
- Unlike the US and Germany whose holdings are from seizures, Bhutan banks on Bitcoin mining
- The Kingdom is believed to have constructed four $BTC mines over the years
The Royal Government of Bhutan has continuously been building up its Bitcoin treasury, regardless of the ups and downs of the world’s largest cryptocurrency by market value, and its strategy has been paying off.
According to on-chain data from the wallet linked to the Bhutan government by blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, the small sovereign state’s BTC stash is now worth over $1 billion. There are other altcoins on the wallet, including Ethereum (ETH) and BNB.
Arkham Intelligence
A Bitcoin Whale Wedged Between Global Economic Superpowers
Bhutan is located between China and India, two key economic powerhouses in Asia, and while it is a small jurisdiction, it is the world’s first carbon-negative country.
Arkham first unveiled the digital wallet in September. At the time, the blockchain analysis leader revealed that Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings were from its BTC mining operations that were being carried out by the government’s investment arm, Druk Holdings.
In September, the wallet’s Bitcoin holdings were worth over $700 million. Just less than two months later, the digital wallet’s BTC stash is now at over 12,000 and is worth over $1 billion.
The Treasury of All Treasuries
The Kingdom of Bhutan’s holdings from its Bitcoin mining activity far surpasses the BTC trove of El Salvador, widely called the “Bitcoin country.”
For one, El Salvador has been buying 1 Bitcoin daily since late November 2022, about a year after it officially recognized the digital currency as legal tender. The Central American nation has also been collaborating with organizations for Bitcoin education and broader adoption.
The U.S., on the other hand, acquired its BTC stash from seizures, including the seizure of over 50,000 Bitcoins from James Zhong, who unlawfully obtained the coins from the darkweb marketplace Silk Road. At the time of the seizure, the seized BTC was worth over $3.3 billion.
Another country that made the headlines earlier this year over its Bitcoin holdings was Germany. The German government seized 50,000 Bitcoins from a piracy website but sold off all of its stash over a couple of weeks, sending BTC prices down.
While Germany and the U.S. acquired their BTC through seizures and El Salvador built up its treasury through purchases, Bhutan stands out above the rest due to its holdings obtained from Bitcoin mining.
Also, El Salvador has been quite public about its Bitcoin buy strategy, while Bhutan silently stacked up by utilizing mining pools such as AntPool, Foundry, and Braiins.
On-chain data shows that the Bhutan government-linked wallet continues to stack up on its Bitcoins, regardless of how high or how low BTC prices go.
Satellite imagery showed that the Kingdom had been gradually building up its Bitcoin mining infrastructure over the years, as per Forbes. The report revealed that the sovereign state appears to have four mines, one of which is located in the Kingdom’s “failed” Education City project.
It remains to be seen whether Bhutan will continue to improve its mining operations and whether it will also consider adopting El Salvador’s purchase strategy as an additional edge.
