Bhutan transferred 502 Bitcoin (BTC), worth around USD 49.42 million, to two cryptocurrency exchange platforms, Binance and Singaporean-based crypto-asset trading firm, QCP Capital, on December 10.
This marks the latest Bitcoin transfer by the government since October this year. Such deposits of cryptocurrency exchanges are often associated with intentions to sell.
Bhutan sent 402 BTC, worth USD 39.56 million, to QCP capital in four separate transfers. Later, 100 coins, worth USD 9.81 million, were transferred to Binance.
Since the Bitcoin price surge in October, Bhutan has moved 1, 696 BTC, valued at USD 139 million. The sales made through Binance and QCP Capital were at an average of USD 81,999 per BTC.
In October, Bhutan transferred 929 BTC, worth USD 66.16 million, to Binance cryptocurrency exchange across two transactions. The price of one BTC was USD 70,000 at that time.
In July, the government-linked wallet deposited 381 BTC worth USD 24.1 million to Kraken cryptocurrency exchange.
Despite the recent sell-offs, Bhutan holds about 11,688 BTC, worth USD 1.15 billion across seven wallets. It represents 27 percent of the country’s USD 2.9 billion GDP and is the fourth-largest government Bitcoin holder globally.
Bhutan built its Bitcoin reserves through mining operations powered by its abundant hydropower unlike other many countries acquiring through criminal asset seizures.
In May 2023, Druk Holding and Investments (DHI) partnered with Bitdeer Technologies Group to launch a USD 500 million fund to boost Bitcoin mining in the country. In April this year, Bhutan announced plans to expand its mining capacity by 500 megawatts by mid-2025, bringing the total capacity to 600 megawatts.
Bhutan’s Bitcoin mining is at the advantage side because the country started mining in the year 2019 when one BTC was trading at USD 5,000.
Apart from Bitcoin, the country also holds 656.039 Ethereum, worth USD 2.53 million. As of yesterday, one Ethereum was equivalent to USD 3, 943.98.
Bhutan’s cryptocurrencies are managed by the investment arm of the government, DHI.
Analysts predict that one BTC could hit USD 200,000 by late 2025.
Source: kuensel