Bhutan Holds $780M Bitcoin Acquired Via Stated-Funded Mining

South Asian country Bhutan has quietly amassed $780M in Bitcoin, using hydropower to drive expansive mining operations across multiple sites.

What’s the scoop?

• Major Holdings Identified: Bhutan holds 13,011 BTC, valued at around $780.49M, according to Arkham Intelligence — the 4th largest government holdings identified by Arkham.
• Procurement Method: Unlike most governments, Bhutan’s BTC holdings are derived from Bitcoin mining rather than asset seizures, managed by Bhutan’s national investment arm, Druk Holdings.
• Sustainability Efforts: Bhutan's mining is powered by hydropower, further emphasized by a partnership with Bitdeer in 2023 to expand mining operations to 600 megawatts.

Bankless Take:

What proves most notable about Bhutan’s Bitcoin is that it accumulated these reserves through mining rather than enforcement actions. This places Bhutan among a slowly growing number of governments actively mining Bitcoin, like Russia, which recently passed a law to fully legalize cryptocurrency mining. This expansion comes as more countries band together to launch alternative payment systems like BRICs Bridge, potentially signaling a trend of countries increasingly viewing Bitcoin as a solution to this. Overall, if more governments launch mining operations, either for economic or strategic reasons, the shift could play a major role in Bitcoin’s future distribution and stability.