Bhutan has a large sovereign wealth fund, part of which contains Bitcoin. All of this has been acquired through its own mining endeavours, which it has recently begun to sell off.
The kingdom of Bhutan recently made a huge move, redirecting a large part of its cryptocurrency stocks. This began with the movement of 175 Bitcoin in early March, which had a valuation of $11.85 million. No official statements were given, though this was later spotted by analysts. Despite being spread to the media just hours later, there has still been no official statement on why the currency was moved. Further movements followed.
On Wednesday, March 25th, this was followed by the movement of 519.7 BTC. While USD to BTC prices have been down, with Bitcoin trading at around $71,292 on the day, this equated to a valuation of around $37 million. It has, however, gone up by 1.3% in the last 24 hours, spurred by news of a possible reprieve in Middle East tensions.
The funds were sent to two different wallets, one of which was linked to a major trading firm. The government still holds around 4,453 BTC, which is valued at around $315.89 million. However, the country's sovereign wealth fund, of which the assets are part, is managed by Druk Holding and Investments Ltd. These two are among many made by the company over the last month.
Bhutan has been mining its own Bitcoin since 2019. The country has an abundance of hydropower, which it has used to provide clean energy for the process. Usually, this energy, which is overproduced during the monsoon season, is exported or wasted. Bitcoin mining provides a way to monetise this excess. By late 2024, the fund held 13,000 BTC, which was worth $1.5 billion.
In December 2025, the Kingdom of Bhutan stated that it would pioneer a Bitcoin Development Pledge. Around 10,000 BTC was earmarked for the fund; it was noted that it would be put towards the building of Gelephu Mindfulness City. The concept of this is to build a special business and economic zone in the country that operates on digital assets. While the country's money can be tracked in real time, the intent behind this can not. Selling Bitcoin to fund this project is one possible explanation.
Unlike other nations that have dived headfirst into Bitcoin adoption, Bhutan has taken a careful approach using it to fund infrastructure and development. They have often linked these to global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) targets.
El Salvador is a prime example of how bringing Bitcoin into an economy can go horribly wrong. It began to purchase Bitcoin and use it as a reserve asset. Due to its complicated policies and the fluctuating price of crypto, this proved troublesome. This is in contrast to Bhutan, where Bitcoin in the sovereign wealth fund and managed by Druk Holding has not been purchased on the open market but created in the country. Financial risk is averted, as it is made from an excess and costs zero.
The timing may be right for this, too. Binance recently noted that there has been a real-world spend signal as crypto cards crossed the USD $ 100 million mark. Crypto card volumes rose by 5x in 2025 and reached $115 million in January 2026. They noted how this is still tiny versus traditional rails but growing fast, with Visa dominating this niche. This signals a movement towards cryptocurrency regaining its original purpose: As a means of payment, not investment, something that could boost the project greatly.
Another reason for the sale may be a shrewd one, as Bitcoin enters a possible record six months in the red. Currently, it does hold 10% gains on the month, meaning this may be avoidable. Yet economic volatility is still a real threat, mostly emanating from conflicts in the Middle East, dampening the appetite for risk assets. Binance noted how the Strait of Hormuz escalation is shifting to a physical blockade risk. With this, Iran’s reported naval mine deployment turns the shock from “supply disruption” into a chokepoint scenario, with shipping traffic down 95%+ and clearance likely taking weeks even if diplomacy improves.
A possible easing of this has seen the price rise in the last 24 hours. Yet movements elsewhere, particularly from retail holders and whales moving to exchanges, suggest that selling is about to begin. On March 23rd, those in the 1,000 to 10,000 $BTC bracket moved 444 BTC to exchanges, which reached 2,788 BTC by the next day.
Traditional investors have shown a renewed interest, however. Binance also added how U.S. participation in BTC is reappearing. Spot ETF volume share has risen, but ETFs are still only 9% of total BTC spot volume. This is far below the 30–40% equity norm, implying room for expansion if the regime stabilizes.
All this leaves a very mixed picture when it comes to Bitcoin. Major whales and countries are moving it, and geopolitical tensions are dragging down the price. Yet this could be the right time to accumulate, and if tensions do ease, the price could easily creep back up toward the highs seen in the last 12 months.
