Bhutan Government Tops Bitcoin Bag, Now Holds $1 Bln BTC

The Government of Bhutan has doubled down on its Bitcoin (BTC) investment and reserve strategy. For a country that just came into the limelight recently for its mined Bitcoin stash, it has pressed the gas with no intention of slowing down. Per current data from Arkham Intelligence, the Bitcoin in store by the Government of Bhutan has crossed the $1 billion valuation milestone.

Bhutan and Bitcoin: The Perfect Mix

The entry of Bhutan into the Bitcoin landscape came out of economic necessity. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, one of its biggest industries – Tourism – took a big hit. As a result, the country pivoted and deployed its excess energy resources to start mining Bitcoin.

Per data from Arkham Intelligence, Druk Holdings, the entity that helps the Royal Government of Bhutan to administer its BTC trades now holds exactly $1,033,855,613.15 in the coin. While the government has not necessarily bought or announced new mining, the ongoing bull rally has increased its valuations.

As of writing, Druk Holdings holds 12,568 BTC overall, worth the approximately $1 billion. It remains in the list of the top contries with BTC portfolio.

The Royal Government of Bhutan now owns $1 Billion in Bitcoin. pic.twitter.com/y8MQdCqMDy

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) November 11, 2024

As showcased by the Arkham Intelligence data, Bhutan also holds other assets in the Druk Holdings wallet. After BTC, Bhutan also holds 656.039 Ethereum worth over $2 million, 8.889 KIBSHI tokens worth $128.98 and 69 million BOBO tokens of $98.67.

Despite its highly positive disposition to Bitcoin, the country is not completed all out to mine and HODL. In the balances history shared by Arkham, the government sells its BTC stash ocassionally, evident by the bump in the shared chart.

Governments and Corporate BTC Bet

The relevance of Bitcoin has forced a number of countries and corporate firms rethinking their position on the asset class. Beyond Bhutan, the United States is also looking at building a Bitcoin reserve under Donald Trump. Discussions behind this Bitcoin reserve dates back to the Campaign era where Donald Trump made such promises.

The competition is multi-faceted with corporate firms also scooping up a significant share of the remaining Bitcoin in circulation. As reported earlier by Coingape, MicroStrategy just bought additional 27,200 BTC to take its total stash to 279,420 BTC.

Through spot ETF products, more mainstream Wall Street firms are now also backing the asset class with promises of growth in the long term. Thus far, the Bitcoin bets from Bhutan and MicroStrategy have paid off as the coin has hit a new ATH above $84,000.

Priced for $84,257.31, up by 5.59% in 24 hours atop a $94.2 billion or 50% trading volume surge.