Bhutan Has Sold 70% of Its Bitcoin Reserves in the Past 18 Months
The Royal Government of Bhutan is quickly dropping in the pecking order of governments holding large Bitcoin volumes after transferring 250 BTC to suspected OTC exchange wallets on April 10.
The latest figures show a significant 70% decline in Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings over 18 months, with the country’s Bitcoin reserves dropping from 13,000 BTC in October 2024 to approximately 3,954 BTC, according to .
Bhutan’s current Bitcoin holdings are worth about $280 million, with about $215.7 million in the crypto asset moved out of government-linked wallets in 2026 alone. The trend suggests a systematic withdrawal, with Bhutan gradually and systematically reducing its Bitcoin position.
It is worth noting that Bhutan’s Bitcoin accumulation was mainly through mining operations, with the country focusing on hydroelectricity as its energy source. This approach involved turning excess renewable energy into digital assets, enabling the country to build one of the largest Bitcoin reserves held by a government at some point.
A national sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding and Investments, managed Bhutan’s mining operation. Meanwhile, the country started selling the accumulated tokens from late 2024, as revealed by data from Arkham Intelligence.
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Data show that Bhutan often sells its Bitcoin holdings using wallets linked to cryptocurrency platforms, such as Galaxy Digital and OKX. Meanwhile, the country has not released any official statement explaining these sales, leaving the crypto community speculating.
In the meantime, Bitcoin mining operations in Bhutan have dropped significantly, with Arkham’s data showing that the country has not recorded any major inflows from the exercise for over a year. According to reports, Bhutan has not recorded any inflow above $100,000 during this period.
Crypto community members speculate that the nation may have paused the process due to a low revenue ratio since the last Bitcoin halving. Some believe it may have become too difficult for Bhutan to compete in an ecosystem with better machines.
Meanwhile, a section of observers thinks simple economics may be behind Bhutan’s withdrawal from the mining sector. They believe it could have become more profitable for the country to sell the same hydropower to neighboring countries than to channel it to Bitcoin mining.
