Bhutan Official Speaks Up On Claims of Selling $1 Billion In Bitcoin

Bhutan’s Bitcoin movements have come into the spotlight again. The scrutiny comes due to the recent indications of a potential sale of nearly $1 billion worth of Bitcoin. For context, these transactions were flagged by the blockchain analytics firm, Arkham Intelligence, since July 2025.

Bhutan Officials Open Up On Selling Bitcoin

Over the last year, wallets associated with Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), the government-owned wealth fund of Bhutan, have been moving massive amounts of Bitcoin. DHI then dumped this reserve to exchanges and trading companies, according to on-chain reports.

In October 2024, Arkham reported that the wallets had almost 13,000 BTC in their holdings. However, this has fallen to approximately 3,100 BTC, which is worth about $252 million as of Friday’s BTC price.

Another finding from the data indicated that, between 2026 alone, approximately $207 million worth of Bitcoin was removed from wallets. If the current rate of transfers continues, Bhutan could exhaust its remaining BTC reserves by October, according to Arkham Intelligence.

Bhutanese government officials, however, stated that they did not sell Bitcoin. “I don’t recall the last time we sold any BTC,” said DHI’s Chief Executive Ujjwal Deep Dahal, per a CoinDesk report.

When contacted about the activity being monitored on the wallet, DHI allegedly replied, “our statement stands and nothing to add beyond it.”

The sovereign wealth fund did not specifically comment on the transfers. It also didn’t challenge Arkham’s “wallet labels” or the country’s current Bitcoin reserves.

What Is Arkham’s Stance?

However, Arkham claims that Bhutan has been mining since at least 2019 using the government’s mining infrastructure using hydroelectric power. Some of the wallet outflows went to addresses that are known to have been associated with Galaxy Digital and OKX, the analytics firm noted.

“When an entity sends assets to an exchange or an OTC trading firm, typically the purpose of the transfer is to exchange those assets,” an Arkham analyst said.

The analyst further noted that deposits on centralized exchanges “generally indicates selling activity.” However, it is impossible to verify blockchain information to determine if Bitcoin is actually sold.

In December, Bhutan announced that it will invest up to 10,000 BTC in the development of a planned economic zone in southern Bhutan called Gelephu Mindfulness City, which has brought up new questions about the country’s reserves.

Meanwhile, Dahal has demanded that Bhutan’s mining activities continue. “(Rain) keeps our hydropower plants running at strong capacity and our mining operations active,” he said.