A representative of the sovereign fund Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) refuted claims of bitcoin sales from Bhutan’s national reserve in a comment to CoinDesk.
According to Arkham Intelligence, at its peak in October 2024, the kingdom held approximately 13,000 BTC. Since then, DHI’s asset manager has moved and presumably liquidated most of the cryptocurrency. The wallet tracked by the analytics platform holds 3,121 BTC.
“I don’t recall the last time we sold bitcoins,” a DHI representative told the publication.
However, he declined to comment on the movement of funds, did not dispute the ownership of the addresses flagged by Arkham, and did not disclose the amount of cryptocurrency remaining under state control.
Coins from the fund were transferred to wallets that interacted with centralized exchanges and trading companies, including OKX and Galaxy Digital. According to an Arkham analyst, such cases likely indicate a sale, although this cannot be definitively confirmed, he admitted.
Bhutan’s bitcoin reserve was built through mining using surplus hydroelectric power. The state continues to finance at least four cryptocurrency mining sites.
In recent months, coin inflows into the national fund have ceased. This has led journalists to speculate that the government abandoned mining due to declining profitability.
DHI stated that the country “was fortunate this year” with early and stable rains, which maintain hydroelectric plants at high capacity and ensure uninterrupted cryptocurrency mining.
“We continuously upgrade our equipment, transitioning to the latest installations to remain competitive,” the organization emphasized.
Earlier in May, Bhutan’s special economic zone, the City of Consciousness Gelephu, introduced a simplified licensing mechanism for crypto companies.