Bhutan Sells 70% of Its Bitcoin Holdings in 18 Months as Mining Appears to Halt

TLDR

• Bhutan has reduced its Bitcoin holdings from ~13,000 BTC to around 3,774 BTC since October 2024
• The kingdom has moved over $233 million worth of Bitcoin out of state wallets in 2026 alone
• Bhutan’s last recorded Bitcoin mining inflow over $100,000 was more than a year ago
• Druk Holding and Investments, Bhutan’s sovereign wealth fund, has not publicly commented
• Bhutan is the only sovereign-level holder visibly selling, while others like Strategy continue buying

Bhutan’s government has sold roughly 70% of the Bitcoin it held at its peak in October 2024, when holdings stood at close to 13,000 BTC. Its remaining stash is now around 3,774 BTC, worth approximately $272.5 million.

The Royal Government of Bhutan moved another 250 BTC, worth about $18 million, to a newly created wallet this week, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. That followed an earlier transfer of roughly 319.7 BTC, worth $22.68 million, made on Thursday.

In total, Bhutan has moved over $233 million in Bitcoin out of its known holding addresses so far in 2026. Around $162.6 million of that went to unlabeled wallets, with the rest routed toward addresses previously linked to sales via Galaxy Digital and OKX.

Bhutan’s Bitcoin was accumulated through a hydropower-backed mining operation run by Druk Holding and Investments, the country’s sovereign wealth fund. The operation used cheap renewable energy to mine Bitcoin without relying on traditional financial infrastructure.

Mining May Have Stopped

Arkham data shows no Bitcoin inflow exceeding $100,000 into Bhutan’s known addresses in over a year. This suggests the mining operation may have slowed down or stopped entirely.

Druk Holding and Investments has not responded to multiple requests for comment from media outlets, including emails and calls made over the past week.

The economics of Bitcoin mining have shifted. When Bhutan’s operation was most active, Bitcoin traded above $90,000 and network difficulty was lower. Bitcoin now trades around $72,000, and mining difficulty is at all-time highs.

The post-halving block reward has also been cut to 3.125 BTC. These factors have compressed margins for smaller mining operations.

There is also a possibility that selling electricity to neighboring India may now generate more revenue for Bhutan than running mining hardware.

Other Holders Are Buying

Bhutan’s sell-off stands out because most other major holders are moving in the opposite direction. Strategy purchased 4,871 BTC for $330 million last weekend, bringing its total holdings to 766,970 BTC.

U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed around 50,000 BTC in March alone. The Ethereum Foundation staked $93 million worth of Ether in a single day rather than sell.

Bhutan is currently the only sovereign-level entity visibly liquidating its Bitcoin position.

Bitcoin traded above $72,000 at the time of writing, up more than 1.3% over the previous 24 hours. The asset remains about 43% below its all-time high of around $126,000, reached in October 2025.

Bhutan’s remaining 3,774 BTC is now less than what Strategy typically buys in a single week.

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