Bhutan’s Druk Holdings Makes Major Move: 117K ETH Position Built on Aave
Bhutan's sovereign investment arm just placed a massive bet on Ethereum's future—and they're using DeFi to do it.
The Strategic Play
A wallet definitively linked to Druk Holdings & Investments—the Kingdom of Bhutan's state-owned investment corporation—has quietly constructed a 117,000 ETH position on lending protocol Aave. That's not retail money. That's national treasury-level conviction entering the decentralized finance arena.
Why It Matters
This isn't just another whale watching alert. A sovereign entity leveraging a permissionless protocol to manage a nine-figure crypto asset position signals a tectonic shift. It bypasses traditional custodial banks and asset managers entirely. The move suggests a sophisticated, yield-seeking strategy far beyond simple 'HODLing'—they're putting the asset to work.
The Bigger Picture
Nations have been dabbling in crypto reserves for years, but active management on-chain is a different beast. It validates DeFi's infrastructure as sufficiently robust—or at least calculated-risk-worthy—for institutional-scale capital. Of course, it also adds a new layer of 'sovereign risk' to the protocol's governance token, for whatever that's worth to the degens.
One can't help but smirk at the irony: a state entity using a system designed to disintermediate the state. Perhaps even national treasuries have grown tired of the pathetic yields offered by their traditional banker friends. The future of finance is being built—and it seems even kingdoms want a front-row seat.
Druk Holdings expands ETH exposure
ETH was a relatively small holding in the portfolio of the Royal Government of Bhutan. The Government’s known wallets hold a minimal remaining balance of 17.695 ETH. Until recently, most ETH has been sitting idle in Bhutan’s wallets.
The Royal Government of Bhutan held 3,000 ETH in the summer of 2025, later divesting the holdings. Some of the ETH initially held idly was staked in several deposits. The Royal Government of Bhutan also accelerated its acquisition of ETH from September 2025 onward.
The Druk Holdings entity has already accrued a small portfolio valued at over $458K, with most in the FORM of AESTHWETH, a form of wrapped ETH on Aave. In total, the entity’s wallet made 35 transactions to Aave, moving $735M over time. The entity also holds $275.6M on Lido.
The entity funded its wallets over the weekend and expanded the leveraged position on Monday. If the wallet is proven to belong to Druk Holdings, this WOULD be one of the first leveraged positions on ETH taken by a state entity. In total, the entity’s wallet made 35 transactions to Aave, moving $735M over time.
In late 2025, Bhutan also introduced an Ethereum-based national identity system, inviting Vitalik Buterin to launch the project.
Bhutan is more active with its ETH treasuries
The flagged entity has significant wrapped ETH activity on Aave and Lido. Unlike the BTC treasury, ETH holdings allow for passive income and potential passive income.
In the past months, Bhutan’s known wallets moved both ETH and BTC, currently holding around $556M, down from over $1B. Some of the BTC was moved to new addresses over time for security purposes.
The ETH holdings have not been sold on the open market; instead, they are making use of the existing DeFi ecosystem. At the current ETH price range above $3,200, most of the positions on Aave are liquidatable at around $1,400 per ETH.
If you're reading this, you’re already ahead. Stay there with our newsletter.
