- On-chain data showed the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred 973 Bitcoin valued at approximately $72.32 million on Wednesday.
- The transfer spanned 19 hours and involved multiple wallets, with the largest transaction involving about $44.44 million.
- This outflow represented one of the largest from Bhutan-linked wallets in recent months, in contrast to a trend of modest inflows over the past year.
The Royal Government of Bhutan on Wednesday sent 973 Bitcoin (BTC), which was worth about $72.32 million, to multiple wallets within a span of 19 hours.
Arkham Intelligence data showed that the largest transaction moved 595.8 BTC, worth around $44.44 million, to two different wallets. There were other transfers, including 20.5 BTC, worth around $1.52 million, to QCP Capital, a crypto trading firm. It was first brought to notice by OnChain Lens.
The shift is among the largest outflows from Bhutan-linked wallets in the past several months, following a general trend of modest inflows over the past year. Bhutan is thought to have between $600 million and $1.3 billion worth of Bitcoin, which may be as much as 30% to 40% of the country's GDP at its highest value.
Bhutan Steps In To Crypto
Bhutan's initial foray into cryptocurrency was not a retail-acceptance or legal-tender effort but was a state-directed mining plan centered on surplus hydropower. DHI, the business arm of the Royal Government of Bhutan, has been identified as the body behind the country's Bitcoin mining operations, with further public comments linking the commencement of that activity to 2019-2020. Later, it expanded materially through a formal partnership with Bitdeer (BTDR).
By September 2024, Arkham reports indicate that it had identified Bhutan as holding just over 13,000 BTC, with the accumulation resulting from government-funded mining activities rather than seizures.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin was trading at $71,311.47, down over 4% in the last 24 hours. On Stocktwits, retail sentiment around BTC remained in the ‘bullish’ zone, as chatter levels remained at ‘normal’ over the past day.
The transfers came as Bitcoin prices pulled back sharply, dropping below $72,000 on Wednesday after logging eight consecutive days of gains. Glassnode data showed this was the first such streak in more than two years, with the last occurring in October 2023.
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