Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), Bhutan's new economic center, plans to integrate Bitcoin and Ether into its strategic reserve fund, opening up development opportunities from Bitcoin mining.
The city of Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), part of the Special Administrative Zone of Gelephu, Bhutan, has announced a strategic plan to integrate cryptocurrency into the city's reserve fund. According to the official announcement on January 8, GMC intends to recognize leading digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH), and BNB as part of its strategic reserve fund, aiming to enhance economic resilience and exploit the potential from Bitcoin mining activities.
This plan marks a new step in Bhutan's development strategy, as the country has quietly invested in Bitcoin and other digital assets since 2019 through Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), the royal government's commercial entity.
According to Arkham Intelligence, DHI currently holds 11,688 BTC (equivalent to 1.12 billion USD) and 656 ETH (2.2 million USD), along with a small amount of assets on other blockchains like Polygon, BNB Chain, and Base. Most of this Bitcoin is believed to come from domestic mining activities, in coordination with major mining companies like Bitdeer. DHI is also known to be a customer of cryptocurrency lending companies such as BlockFi and Celsius.
Unlike many other regions that focus solely on Bitcoin, GMC aims for a diversified reserve fund, including various digital assets with large market capitalizations and high liquidity. The city government emphasizes selecting assets that can be easily bought and sold with the least price impact, while prioritizing secure and robust blockchains that support on-chain transaction monitoring. GMC is expected to discuss this plan in detail with senior Bhutanese government officials and global industry leaders in March.
Announcement about GMC's strategic cryptocurrency reserves. Source: Facebook
The establishment of GMC is part of the long-term vision of King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, aimed at building an economic corridor connecting South Asia with Southeast Asia. This project, with administrative autonomy and legal independence, is being implemented in phases and is expected to be completed in 21 years. A bond worth 100 million USD was issued in November 2024 to kickstart the project.
