Bhutan has sold roughly 70% of its Bitcoin reserves over the past 18 months, cutting its holdings from about 13,000 BTC to 3,954 BTC. Data cited from Arkham Intelligence shows wallets operated by sovereign wealth fund Druk Holding and Investments moved another 319.7 BTC on Thursday, worth about $22.68 million by the figures in the report. Around 250 BTC was sent to wallets previously used for sales through Galaxy Digital and OKX, while 69.7 BTC went to a new unlabeled address.
Holdings have fallen sharply since late 2024
The transfer was part of a much longer selling cycle. The report says Bhutan still held about 13,000 BTC in October 2024, largely accumulated through hydro-powered Bitcoin mining. That position has now dropped to 3,954 BTC, valued at about $280 million. This year alone, the country has moved Bitcoin worth roughly $215.7 million out of its main wallet, with most of those funds heading to unlabeled addresses.
Mining activity appears to have gone quiet
On-chain activity is also fueling questions about whether Bhutan’s sovereign mining operation is still running. According to the Arkham data referenced in the article, the last recorded mining-related inflow above $100,000 arrived more than a year ago. That suggests the country may no longer be adding fresh mined BTC and could now be relying on its remaining treasury instead.
The economics described in the report point to why that may be happening. Bhutan’s model worked better when Bitcoin traded above $90,000 and network difficulty was lower. Conditions look different now. With Bitcoin near $71,000, mining difficulty repeatedly hitting new highs, and the block reward reduced to 3.125 BTC after the halving, margins for a smaller state-backed miner appear far tighter. Under those conditions, selling hydroelectric power directly to India may produce better returns than mining.
A sharp contrast with institutional accumulation
Bhutan’s drawdown stands apart from the buying trend among large market participants. The report notes that U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs absorbed about 50,000 BTC in March, while Strategy bought 4,871 BTC over the past weekend. Based on the disclosed figures, Bhutan’s remaining 3,954 BTC is now smaller than Strategy’s purchases made over a matter of days.