- Bhutan holds over 13,000 Bitcoin which is equivalent to 40% of GDP
- The country’s reserves were not seized or purchased but mined
- Bhutan uses its abundant hydropower (running entirely on clean energy) to mine Bitcoin
Bhutan now holds over 13,000 Bitcoin (approximately $1.3 billion), equivalent to 40% of GDP, making it the third-largest government-owned Bitcoin reserve globally after the USA and the UK. This ranking is based on sovereign-held Bitcoin reserves, where the state actively manages and declares its holdings.
What’s even more impressive about this is that Bhutan’s reserves were not seized or purchased but mined, which distinguishes them from other countries’ holdings.
How Did Bhutan Build Its Bitcoin Reserve?
The country began Bitcoin mining in late 2020, using two small units installed by Druk Holding & Investments (DHI) near Dochula Pass. The initial team learned from online resources and even assembled hardware themselves during a pandemic-induced border closure.
By 2022, Bhutan had operationalized four government mines, scaling up to at least six sites by 2025, often under wraps to protect security.
Interestingly, this South Asian country uses its abundant hydropower (running entirely on clean energy) to mine Bitcoin, acting like an energy battery during peak production times.
Two years ago, the government sold $100M of Bitcoin to fund salary increases for civil servants, massively slowing down emigration and providing substantial fiscal relief.
In recent times, Bhutan branded its mining operations as green crypto because all electricity used is renewable, offsetting coal-based mining elsewhere. Future plans include scaling hydropower beyond 3.5 gigawatts to potentially 15-33 gigawatts over the next decade, enabling massive expansion of mining capacity.
Crypto city
The country isn’t stopping just at mining, as the government announced the development of Gelephu Mindfulness City. Once completed, it will be a futuristic crypto region where Bitcoin and other digital currencies will be used for travel, real estate, banking, and city services.
The vision includes issuing a gold-backed digital currency and even launching a full-reserve digital bank to support the project.
Bhutan seems to put all of its cards in crypto – Bitcoin, to be more precise, and so far it has been worth it. However, due to the volatile nature of the crypto industry, there might come a situation that will dramatically impact Bhutan’s financial stability.
Still, for such a small country with a population of 786,000, these are all rather impressive and noteworthy results.
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