The government of Bhutan reportedly holds more than $780 million worth of Bitcoin (BTC), according to the crypto de-anonymizing platform Arkham.
Arkham notes that Bhutan, a South Asian country of only 884,500 people, has generated 13,036 BTC from mining operations carried out by the Bhutanese monarchy’s investment arm, Druk Holdings.
Explains the platform,
“Unlike most governments, Bhutan’s BTC does not come from law enforcement asset seizures, but from Bitcoin mining operations, which have ramped up dramatically since early 2023.”
Bhutan also owns more than double the amount of Bitcoin held by El Salvador, which currently possesses 5,876.76 BTC worth $353.7 million. The Central American country has adopted Bitcoin as legal tender and started a “National Bitcoin Office” that mines the top crypto asset.
The Bhutanese government has previously expressed an interest in digital assets: In 2021, the nation’s Royal Monastery Authority (RMA) collaborated with Ripple on a central bank digital currency (CBDC) pilot project. The RMA wanted to explore the potential for CBDCs to enhance cross-border payments.
Bitcoin is trading at $60,203 at time of writing. The top-ranked crypto asset by market cap is up more than 3% in the past 24 hours and nearly 5% in the past week.
The Royal Government of Bhutan also owns 656.013 Ethereum (ETH) currently worth $1.53 million, according to Arkham.
Generated Image: Midjourney