Bhutan quietly transferred more than $42 million in Bitcoin in 2026, even as the small Himalayan kingdom holds a large national crypto reserve worth nearly $374 million.
That has helped the government’s digital assets avoid a liquidation frenzy and move slowly, as evidenced by the transfers. Rather than making major liquidations, Bhutan is selling small portions of its holdings even though most of its Bitcoin treasury remains unchanged.
Bhutan moved 175 BTC worth around $11.85 million on Monday, according to blockchain data from Arkham Intelligence. It’s a recent move among a string of tiny Bitcoin payments the country has made this year. Bhutan also transferred around $6.8 million in Bitcoin last month. At this point in 2026, Bhutan has shifted roughly $42.5 million in Bitcoin, according to Arkham Intelligence.
But even with these transactions, Bhutan has a vast buffer of digital assets. At present, about 5,600 BTC is held in government wallets, valued at approximately $381 million at market prices.
The country’s Bitcoin holdings are held by Druk Holding & Investments, the government’s sovereign investment arm. Analysts from Arkham Intelligence explain that Bhutan sells Bitcoin typically in small chunks, amounting to $5 million to $10 million each. This dynamic shows evidence of a strategic treasury choice.
Hydropower helps Bhutan build a national Bitcoin reserve
Bhutan’s Bitcoin stash wasn’t created by purchasing the cryptocurrency from exchanges. No, the country chiefly mined the digital asset itself. The country enjoys a clean, inexpensive energy source: hydroelectric power.
This renewable energy has been used by Bhutan for its large-scale Bitcoin mining operations, enabling it to acquire more cryptocurrency without making massive purchases. This approach allowed Bhutan to privately amalgamate one of the world’s more notable government-backed Bitcoin positions.
The nation transferred a much larger amount of Bitcoin in July 2025, moving over $60 million in just 4 days. Government wallets at the time held more than 11,000 BTC, or approximately $1.4 billion. That was large for a country with a small economy.
At one point, Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings were valued at over 40% of the nation’s GDP, according to contemporaneous reports. Since then, Bitcoin has tumbled from its previous highs, trading near $119,000 back then and dropping to roughly $69,000 today. Despite the decline, the country’s crypto stash remains substantial.
The nation’s approach of mining and then slowly selling small amounts of it suggests the country may be treating Bitcoin as a long-term sovereign reserve asset.
Governments around the world are holding Bitcoin
The U.S. currently has the largest known government Bitcoin reserve. Estimates suggest the United States government holds roughly 328,000 BTC, valued at around $22 billion, or 1.64% of the total Bitcoin supply. The vast majority of those holdings stemmed from law-enforcement seizures linked to cybercrime and investigations into darknet trading.
Britain ranks second among countries by value of BTC, worth around $4 billion -0.31% of the total supply, or about 61 thousand BTC. Like the U.S., much of the U.K.’s Bitcoin holdings are thought to have originated from financial crime cases in which authorities seized digital assets.
Further down the scale is El Salvador, which has adopted a radically different policy. Rather than seizing Bitcoin, the country actively bought it in line with its national policy after accepting the cryptocurrency as legal tender. El Salvador now has a government of some 7,500 BTC, worth about $515 million.
In the Middle East, in the United Arab Emirates, a state-owned agency, Citadel Mining, is said to hold about 6,800 BTC, for an estimated $461 million. The holdings tie directly to extensive cryptocurrency mining operations.
The Bhutanese government is also one of the most important national Bitcoin holders. According to estimates, the country holds about 5,600 BTC, valued at around $381 million, through its sovereign investment arm, Druk Holding & Investments.
At the same time, the Russian government is said to own around 1,000 BTC, worth roughly $70 million, or roughly 0.004% of the entire Bitcoin supply.
Source: https://www.cryptopolitan.com/bhutan-quietly-moves-42m-in-bitcoin-in-2026/
