Bhutan sells Bitcoin as price falls near $70,000 with $700m liquidated

Bhutan is selling off its Bitcoin in $50 million clips after it began mining the cryptocurrency more than six years ago.

It’s been a lucrative venture for a country with an annual GDP of just $3.8 billion.

The Himalayan kingdom has generated over $765 million in Bitcoin mining profits since 2019, according to Arkham Intelligence.

As the country invested roughly $120 million in energy costs to power the mining operation, it has generated a 500% return on that investment.

Besides recording record profits, the recent sales also appear to be part of a larger project for the country.

Back in December, Bhutan’s government said it would use 10,000 Bitcoin from its holdings — about $420 million worth at today’s prices — to fund the development of its Gelephu Mindfulness City, meant to be “a world-class economic hub in southern Bhutan.”

The King of Bhutan, Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, described the project as “for our people, our youth, and our nation.”

The kingdom’s killer trade comes as Bitcoin extends its losing spree, falling another 7% to nearly $70,000 on Thursday. Bitcoin is now trading 44% below its all-time high set in October.

Along the way, more than $700 million in long positions across a variety of cryptocurrencies have been wiped out over the past day, Coinglass data shows.

Some $2 trillion has been wiped out from cryptocurrency markets since their highs in October.

US spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds also bled another $545 million on Wednesday, according to DefiLlama data.

Nation-states backpeddle

Industry leaders like digital asset treasury Strategy and investment manager Fidelity had predicted that countries would buy Bitcoin in 2026.

“Bank adoption, nation state adoption, is going to increase,” Strategy CEO Phong Le said in December.

But both Bhutan and El Salvador, two notable holders of Bitcoin, have distanced themselves from the top crypto in recent months.

El Salvador walked back from aggressive Bitcoin adoption after striking a $1.4 billion deal with the IMF.

And while US President Donald Trump ran his 2024 election campaign, teasing a national reserve, the only Bitcoin the country holds these days is that which has been confiscated as part of criminal proceedings.

In August, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the administration had “started a Bitcoin strategic reserve,” but added that the country won’t buy “anymore of that.”

Crypto market movers

• Bitcoin is down 6% over the past 24 hours, trading at $$71,560.
• Ethereum is down 5.4% past 24 hours at $$2,136.

What we’re reading

• Epstein files reveal sex offender’s attempts to steer Bitcoin development — DL News
• Ethereum layer 2 rethink? Vitalik Buterin floats new roadmap amid price plunge — DL News
• Prediction Markets Go Full Bodega Mode in NYC — Unchained
• The ABCD investing framework — Milk Road
• Bitcoin price to $10,000 as markets barrel towards crash ‘reminiscent of 2008,’ Bloomberg analyst warns — DL News

Lance Datskoluo is DL News’ Europe-based markets correspondent. Got a tip? Email him at [email protected].