Bhutan’s Bitcoin mining stash exceeds $750m: Arkham 

Bhutan, with a population of less than one million, is the world’s fourth largest Bitcoin-holding country.

According to Arkham, the Kingdom of Bhutan holds more than 13,000 Bitcoin (BTC) tokens worth over $750 million as of September 16. Only the US, China, and the UK have larger BTC holdings. Bhutan surpassed El Salvador to take fourth place, joining the world’s governments that collectively control more than 2.2% of BTC’s total supply, according to CoinGecko.

BREAKING NEWS: BHUTAN GOVERNMENT’S $750 MILLION BTC IS NOW IN ARKHAM

Bhutan’s Bitcoin assets are now tagged in Arkham. These assets come from Bitcoin mining operations run by Druk Holdings, the investment arm of the Kingdom of Bhutan.

Arkham is the first institution to make these public… pic.twitter.com/a8ScUNJJ9F

— Arkham (@ArkhamIntel) September 16, 2024

While most of the authorities in the ranking acquired BTC through seizures and raids by criminal organizations, or through everyday purchases as in the case of El Salvador, Bhutan grew its BTC holdings through mining.

Arkham reported that the South Asian kingdom is expanding its BTC mining operations starting in early 2023. Through its investment arm Druk Holdings, the country has established several Bitcoin mining facilities using its mountainous terrain.

In one case, Bhutan has converted an abandoned Education City project into a large-scale crypto mining complex. There is no indication that the government plans to sell its BTC, but its overall crypto strategy remains largely unknown.

Bitcoin caches are popping up around the world

As global blockchain adoption grows, national balance sheets and BTC have increasingly intersected. Even top-tier banks in Norway and Switzerland have exposure to the so-called digital gold.

While some welcome this development for BTC, there are concerns about whether government ownership of Bitcoin aligns with the beliefs of BTC’s pseudonymous creator, Satoshi Nakamoto.

As adoption progresses and companies like Arkham uncover more sovereign BTC caches, two questions loom in the industry: Who else owns Bitcoin and what do they plan to do with it?