Located in the Himalayas, Bhutan has attracted attention in the cryptocurrency world for many years with its Bitcoin reserves obtained from hydroelectric energy. Druk Holding and Investments, the country’s only public wealth fund, was amassing these reserves at close to zero cost, almost entirely through mining. Recently, it has been revealed that Bhutan has gradually reduced its Bitcoin holdings.
Extent of Bhutan’s Bitcoin Withdrawals
The amount of Bitcoin held by Bhutan peaked at 13,000 BTC in late 2024. At that time, Bitcoin prices were around $119,000, while the country’s reserve value reached approximately $1.5 billion. However, today the amount held has decreased to 5,400 BTC. This number corresponds to around 374 million dollars under current market conditions. As a result of the drop in Bitcoin price and 7,600 BTC sold from reserve, Bhutan’s Bitcoin treasury lost approximately $1.1 billion in value.
Total sales in 2026 reached 42.5 million dollars. While the BTC transfer of approximately 30.7 million dollars in February attracted attention, these transactions were carried out in groups of 5 to 10 million dollars. On March 9, with a new movement of 175 BTC, crypto assets worth $ 11.85 million were again sent to certain counterparties.
OTC Preference in Sales and Lossless Mining Model
It is observed that Bhutan is turning to addresses linked to QCP Capital and Binance and institutional over-the-counter (OTC) channels for Bitcoin sales, instead of trading directly on exchanges. OTC transactions provide access to liquidity at pre-agreed prices while minimizing price movement in the spot market.
The most obvious difference between these sales of Bhutan and the reserve sales of other states or institutions is that there is practically zero cost among the coins obtained from mining. No additional energy input was required for BTCs produced by hydroelectric energy, which was not used in the entire mining activity. For Druk Holding and Investments, each sale meant a fully realized profit. High levels of profit were achieved independently of the market, without the obligation to keep long-term reserves.
It is emphasized that the cost basis in the sales of Bitcoin reserves managed by Druk Holding and Investments is almost zero and each coin sold creates a completely net profit.
The initiative has demonstrated in practice that state-supported hydroelectric mining can become a direct income model for a country. Bhutan generated significant revenue from the sales without waiting for Bitcoin to reach $119,000 again.
Bitcoin and Reserve Status Allocated to the Gelephu Project
In late 2025, Bhutan announced that it would allocate up to 10,000 BTC to finance the special economic zone called “Gelephu Mindfulness City”. This project was highlighted as a new infrastructure model that uses digital assets as national reserves. However, this commitment was fallen short with the 5,400 BTC in the country’s possession.
This table suggests a change in the financing of the project or a symbolic statement of the shared resource target. It is also possible that Bhutan will continue to produce new BTC from mining in the future and continue selling it simultaneously. In light of the available data, it is not clear which of these preferences is valid.
In general, Bhutan, as one of the first countries to accumulate Bitcoin through state-level mining, is now gradually turning its reserves into liquidity through over-the-counter sales channels in the institutional environment. How this hydroelectric-supported model will affect the country’s economy and what level of resources will be provided for new infrastructure projects will become clear in the coming period.
