Arkham Reports Bhutan Transfers $11.8M Worth of Bitcoin from Government Reserves
The Himalayan kingdom has transferred 175 Bitcoin valued at $11.85 million, while maintaining approximately 5,400 coins in its reserves.
The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, ranked among the largest nation-state holders of Bitcoin globally, has recently transferred 175 Bitcoin from its primary holding wallet as digital currency markets experienced moderate upward movement on Monday.
According to information from Arkham, a blockchain analytics platform, the South Asian nation transferred Bitcoin valued at $11.85 million to a wallet that was established one month prior, which had already received 184 Bitcoin from governmental sources.
As of Tuesday, blockchain records indicate that the 175 Bitcoin remain in that address. Meanwhile, the earlier transfer of 184 coins was forwarded to yet another address, which has accumulated a total of 1,910 Bitcoin starting from 2024 and presently contains 126.
According to a post shared by Arkham on X Monday, the previous instance when Bhutan transferred a comparable quantity of Bitcoin occurred in February, when the kingdom sold $7 million worth of Bitcoin through QCP Capital. The nation has conducted multiple sales throughout this year.
"Bhutan periodically sells portions of its Bitcoin in clips of $5-10M, with a particularly heavy period of selling around mid-late September 2025," Arkham said.
Based on Arkham's calculations as of Monday, Bhutan maintains holdings of approximately 5,400 Bitcoin, positioning its reserves as the seventh-largest among nations worldwide. The United States maintains the largest government-held reserve with 328,372 Bitcoin, valued at nearly $22 billion as of Tuesday.
Beyond Bitcoin, Bhutan maintains holdings in several other digital currencies in different quantities, all overseen by Druk Holding and Investments, the nation's sovereign wealth fund, which include 28 Ether (ETH) and 28 KiboShib, a memecoin generated by artificial intelligence.
Druk Holding and Investments was contacted by Cointelegraph for a statement, but no immediate reply was provided.
Bhutan has been using Bitcoin to fund services
According to Arkham, Bhutan has amassed approximately 13,000 Bitcoin since initiating government-supported mining activities in 2019, powered predominantly by hydroelectric energy sources.
Nevertheless, after the 2024 halving event, mining operations became less profitable as operational costs increased.
Last April, Bhutanese Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay explained to Al Jazeera that throughout the summer season, the nation's hydropower facilities produce excess energy because of heightened water flow. This surplus of electrical power makes it exceptionally feasible to channel the additional energy into Bitcoin mining operations.
During a March 2025 interview with Al Jazeera, Tobgay further stated that revenue generated from Bhutan's Bitcoin holdings has been allocated to finance healthcare programs, environmental projects and compensation for public servants.
An increasing number of Bitcoin mining operations have shifted their energy infrastructure toward artificial intelligence applications and high-performance computing solutions following the April 2024 halving event, which cut mining rewards down to 3.125 Bitcoin and had an adverse effect on overall profitability levels.