Bhutan is quietly running one of the most unusual bitcoin experiments any government has ever run.
The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred about 319.7 BTC worth $22.68 million to two addresses on Thursday, according to Arkham Intelligence data. About 250 BTC went to a wallet that was previously used to direct money for sales via Galaxy Digital and OKX. Another 69.7 BTC was sent to a new, unmarked address.
The deal is part of a series of ongoing sales that have been going on for a while.
Bhutan had approximately 13,000 BTC as of October 2024, accumulated through a hydro-backed mining operation run by Druk Holding and Investments, the kingdom’s sovereign wealth fund.
It was the proof-of-concept for supreme bitcoin mining. A small, landlocked country with cheap renewable energy, no legacy financial infrastructure to protect and a sovereign wealth fund willing to experiment.
Since then it has sold steadily. Holdings now stand at 3,954 BTC worth about $280.6 million, a 70% reduction in 18 months. Arkham data shows that $215.7 million in bitcoin has moved out of Bhutanese addresses this year alone, with $162.6 million going to unmarked wallets.
Sales have accelerated to a market where virtually every other major holder is doing the opposite.
Strategy bought 4,871 BTC worth $330 million last weekend, bringing its total to 766,970. US spot ETFs absorbed approximately 50,000 BTC in March. The Ethereum Foundation staked $93 million in ether in a single day instead of selling. Even gold-backed sovereign wealth funds have added to positions during the Iran conflict.
Bhutan is the only sovereign-level holder that is visibly liquidating. But there is also the question of whether the mining itself is still running.
Arkham data shows that Bhutan’s last bitcoin inflow of over $100,000 was recorded over a year ago. A government that once generated bitcoin from power harnessed from its own rivers can now simply use up what it accumulated without new supplies coming in to replace what it sells.
Druk Holdings did not respond to multiple emails and calls from CoinDesk over the past week, the latest of which was sent in the Asian morning hours on Friday. It has not publicly commented on the transfers or the status of its mining operations.
However, the economy can explain the change.
Bhutan mining was viable when difficulty was lower and bitcoin was trading above $90,000. At current levels near $71,000, with network problems at all-time highs and the post-halving block reward reduced to 3,125 BTC, margins on small-scale sovereign mining have been compressed significantly.
The same hydropower that made Bhutan’s operating novel can now generate more revenue from electricity sold to neighboring India than from bitcoin mining, as mining hardware depreciates with each difficulty adjustment.
Choosing to sell rather than hold or mine is a data point about the gap between bitcoin’s narrative appeal to nation-states and the operational reality of maintaining a position through a prolonged drawdown.
Bhutan’s remaining 3,954 BTC is now less than what Strategy buys in a typical week. The kingdom, which once had 13,000 bitcoin mined from its own mountains, is seeing a single company in Virginia accumulate more in five days than Bhutan has left.
Read More: Bhutan Moves Another 500 Bitcoin To Exchanges As 2026 Outflows Surpass $150 Million
