Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom, is quietly offloading its bitcoin stash, with holdings shrinking month by month. Late Monday, the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 175 BTC worth $11.85 million, Arkham Intelligence data shows. The coins flowed to the same bc1q wallet that received 184 BTC ($14.09 million) in February, suggesting a consistent over-the-counter treasury counterparty.
February Sell-Off Was Bigger: Over $30M in One Month
The activity is handled by Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), Bhutan's state-owned investment arm that runs the country's BTC mining operations. February's moves were more extensive than a single transfer: Arkham's outflow data reveals four separate transactions that month — the 184 BTC transfer, two sends to QCP Capital's merchant deposit address totaling roughly 200 BTC ($15 million), and a $1.5 million USDT transfer to a Binance hot wallet. That's about $30.7 million in February alone, followed by Monday's $11.85 million, bringing 2026 outflows to roughly $42.5 million.
The QCP Capital transfers stand out: sending bitcoin to a trading firm's deposit address twice in one month signals more than simple treasury drawdowns. It points to structured liquidity management or OTC selling rather than cold-wallet reshuffling.
Stack Halved: From 13,000 BTC to 5,400 BTC, Down 58%
The balance history tells a bigger story. Bhutan's stack peaked around 13,000 BTC in late 2024, accumulated over several years through state-backed hydroelectric mining. The drawdown began in earnest after October 2024 and has been steep. From 13,000 to roughly 5,400 coins is a 58% reduction. The dollar value has been hit twice — by the selling and by bitcoin's decline from ~$119,000 at the peak to $69,000 today. What was likely a position worth over $1.5 billion at its height is now $374 million.
In December, Bhutan unveiled a national Bitcoin Development Pledge, committing up to 10,000 BTC to fund Gelephu Mindfulness City, a special economic zone designed to use digital assets for its financial reserves.
Zero-Cost Mining: Every Sale Is Pure Profit
Bhutan mined its coins using surplus hydropower, meaning the cost basis is effectively zero. Unlike Strategy or corporate treasuries that bought at market prices, there's no break-even math pressuring these sales. Every transfer is profit. The Arkham balance chart shows the full arc: a slow build from near zero in early 2021, steady accumulation through the bear market, a ramp to roughly 13,000 BTC by late 2024, and then a sharp decline that hasn't let up. The transfers have gone to the same counterparties in similar sizes without any obvious correlation to specific price moves — looking more like a planned drawdown by a sovereign treasury than a holder getting shaken out.