Bhutan’s Bitcoin Fire Sale: $173M Floods Binance in Record Time
Hold onto your private keys—Bhutan just made a power move. The Himalayan kingdom dumped a staggering $173 million worth of Bitcoin onto Binance in mere days, sparking whispers of a strategic exit (or a panic sell).
Why the sudden sell-off? Theories range from sovereign debt shuffling to a calculated pivot toward greener crypto pastures. Either way, it’s a stark reminder: even governments get cold feet during market turbulence.
Binance’s order books ate it up—liquidity wins again. Meanwhile, Bitcoin maximalists shrug while traditional finance pundits recycle their 'told you so' takes. Never change, fiat cowboys.
A Series of Transfers
The recent outflows were identified by the on-chain analysis firm, Arkham, with the total amount exceeding $170 million and spanning over four days.
The Royal Government began by transferring some of its holdings to Binance on Thursday, with a transaction valued at $37,800. Earlier today, though, the authorities sent another $113.9 million worth of BTC.
This still leaves over 11K BTC left in the wallet held by Druk Holdings, the commercial and investment arm of the Government of Bhutan, worth over $1.280 billion as per the most recent prices.
Even if they sell the bitcoins they moved, the country will still be ranked 5th in the world for holdings, positioned between Ukraine’s stash of over 46,000 BTC and above El Salvador’s over 6,000, as per data from BitBo.
This is not the first time the landlocked country has employed this strategy, as during last year’s rally, it moved roughly $60 million worth of BTC when the price was around $70,000 per unit.
The Country’s Treasury Growth
The kingdom has quietly been accumulating the leading asset for some time now, possibly even earlier than 2017, as previously reported.
According to government sources, they began mining the asset when the price was roughly $5,000 by utilizing their vast, natural hydroelectric resources.
The country also holds approximately $2 million worth of ETH in today’s prices and plans to include other assets in its treasury.
CryptoPotato previously covered how the country created a Special Administration Region – Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), with plans for a strategic reserve of BTC, Ethereum (ETH), and Binance Coin (BNB).
“The purpose of establishing this SAR is to create a vibrant economic hub by providing a conducive business environment and compelling incentives.
It will be a Mindfulness City, encompassing conscious and sustainable businesses,
inspired by Buddhist spiritual heritage, and distinguished by the uniqueness of the Bhutanese identity”, part of the King’s royal address to the nation in 2023.
The aim is to establish a clean technology innovation hub by attracting global investment to stimulate economic growth.
