Bhutan Is Now The Fourth-Largest Bitcoin Holder with Over $780 Million in Holdings

Harshajit Sarmah·Sep 24, 2024·2 min read

Illustration of Bhutan's Bitcoin holdings and eco-friendly mining operations powered by renewable hydropower

Bhutan has accumulated over $780 million in Bitcoin, equivalent to about one-third of its GDP.
The country's Bitcoin holdings are derived from eco-friendly mining operations powered by renewable hydropower.
Bhutan is partnering with Bitdeer to expand its mining capacity to 600 megawatts by 2025.

Bhutan, the Himalayan nation famed for prioritizing happiness, has quietly made waves in the crypto world. With over $780 million in Bitcoin—about one-third of its GDP—Bhutan ranks as the fourth-largest government holder of Bitcoin globally.

BREAKING: 🇧🇹 Bhutan, the Himalayan nation with fewer than 1M people, holds over $780M in #Bitcoin — nearly a third of its GDP.

Unlike other governments, Bhutan’s #BTC isn’t from seizures but booming mining since 2023. pic.twitter.com/z97mxaplKS
— Newzchain, a Blockchain Powered Media Platform (@NewzchainHQ) September 24, 2024

In fact, crypto intelligence firm Arkham confirmed the holdings of the Kingdom of Bhutan on X (formerly Twitter).

According to Arkham, unlike other countries, Bhutan's Bitcoin stash comes from eco-friendly mining powered by renewable hydropower, managed by state-owned Druk Holding.

The firm noted that Bhutan has set up mining facilities at multiple locations, including the largest site on the grounds of the now-defunct Education City project.

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Additionally, in partnership with Bitdeer, a company that provides high Cloud Mining platform and management system, Bhutan aims to boost its mining capacity to 600 megawatts by 2025, positioning itself as a leader in green Bitcoin mining and digital asset innovation.

Arkham further confirmed the activity by analyzing satellite images and aligning them with the timeline of on-chain mining operations. They stated that they were able to match the timeline of on-chain mining activity with time-lapse satellite imagery of the facility's construction.

This now makes Bhutan the fourth-largest government holder of Bitcoin globally.

Edited by Harshajit Sarmah