Bhutan has been identified as a significant Bitcoin holder, with 13,011 BTC valued at approximately $780.49 million.
Bhutan, a Buddhist nation on the eastern flank of the Himalayas, has been identified as a significant Bitcoin holder, with 13,011 BTC valued at approximately $780.49 million.
This is the first time that Bhutan’s Bitcoin addresses have been identified, and it follows from Arkham Intelligence. This demonstrates the extent to which the country is engaged in the cryptocurrency sector.
Himalayan Kingdom Bhutan maintains $780 million Bitcoin portfolio
According to the Arkham report, Bhutan is the fourth-largest government-held Bitcoin, with a total of over $750 million in BTC. Bhutan’s Bitcoin supply is not derived from law enforcement seizures, as with many other governments worldwide. Rather, it is derived from its swiftly expanding Bitcoin mining operations, which have increased substantially since early 2023. Bhutan’s investment agency, Druk Holdings, supervises the country’s Bitcoin mining operations.
Several locations, including the most extensive one on the grounds of the defunct Education City project site, have reportedly initiated Bitcoin mining activities. Arkham Intelligence was able to cross-verify the exact timeline of mining activities with on-chain data, and satellite images were used to document mining infrastructure development.
In May 2023, Bitdeer collaborated with Druk Holding & Investments to establish Bhutan’s inaugural 100% carbon-neutral Bitcoin mining operation. Bloomberg detailed the tandem’s intentions to increase the mining capacity from 100 to 600 megawatts this year. Bhutan’s status as a pure crypto-mining destination is further solidified by its active participation in green mining, which is powered by abundant hydropower.
Unexpected Nations Hoarding Bitcoin
Many countries have become prominent Bitcoin holders due to their governments’ seizure and acquisition of significant amounts of the cryptocurrency through strategic initiatives and law enforcement initiatives.
The United States of America ranks first, with 207,189 BTC valued at over $13.4 billion. This cache has been primarily acquired through seizures in criminal cases since 2020 and is indicative of the country’s robust legal framework for managing illicit digital assets.
China occupies the second position, possessing approximately 190,000 BTC, equivalent to approximately $12.6 billion. These funds were confiscated from the PlusToken Ponzi scheme. This substantial seizure underscores China’s capacity to recover assets from fraudulent enterprises.
The United Kingdom currently possesses an estimated 61,000 BTC, valued at approximately $3.9 billion, and retains over 1.3 million BTC. This substantial amount of cryptocurrency indicates the United Kingdom’s proficiency in locating and confiscating illicit cryptocurrency assets.
Ukraine has confiscated assets worth $1.5 million from former officials, utilizing crypto seizures as a tool in its broader anti-corruption campaign. The country currently possesses 46,351 BTC. Although El Salvador, a much smaller holder than the two countries mentioned above, has garnered attention by establishing Bitcoin as a legal tender, it presently holds 5,748 BTC, which has increased in value to $397 million due to favorable market conditions.
Bhutan: The Bitcoin Mining Powerhouse
Bhutan is the fourth-largest government holder of Bitcoin, which is a surprising finding. Druk Holdings, the investment arm of Bhutan, maintains the wallets holding 13,011 BTC. These funds were predominantly acquired through mining Bitcoin, which was conducted in an environmentally friendly manner due to the abundance of hydropower resources.
This small Himalayan nation is one of the prominent names in the global Bitcoin market due to its strategic focus on sustainable mining. These countries have been steadily increasing their Bitcoin reserves, indicating a growing presence of cryptocurrency in global financial systems.
