Bhutan Economic Hub To Set Up Strategic Crypto Reserve
By Kapil Rajyaguru
Bhutan’s Gelephu Special Administrative Region (GMC), known as Gelephu Mindfulness City, is making waves with its ambitious plan to establish a strategic cryptocurrency reserve. Announced on January 8, the initiative aims to include major digital assets like Bitcoin, Ether, and BNB in its reserves, marking a bold step toward economic resilience and global financial integration.
Unlike regions focusing solely on Bitcoin, GMC’s reserve will encompass multiple high-capitalization cryptocurrencies with deep liquidity to ensure minimal price impact during transactions. The reserve will leverage mature blockchains capable of monitoring on-chain activities, highlighting Bhutan’s commitment to secure and transparent operations.
This announcement follows Bhutan’s $100 million bond issue in November 2024 to fund the GMC project, a 21-year endeavor envisioned as a strategic economic corridor linking South Asia and Southeast Asia. Spearheaded by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, GMC enjoys executive autonomy and legal independence.
Bhutan already ranks among the world’s top governmental Bitcoin holders, boasting 11,688 BTC worth $1.12 billion and 656 ETH worth $2.2 million. Since 2019, the government’s commercial arm, Druk Holding and Investments, has mined over 13,000 BTC worth $750 million. Since then sold over 1300 bitcoins in two tranches to its mining partners and exchanges and now Bhutan currently holds 11,688 bitcoins worth around $1.2 billion which underscores Bhutan’s deep-rooted crypto ambitions.
Bhutan has teamed up with mining giant Bitdeer and leverages investments in BlockFi and Celsius, showcasing a cutting-edge strategy for integrating cryptocurrency into its national economy.
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