The Himalayan country of Bhutan has once again drawn attention in the crypto market with its Bitcoin holdings. According to onchain analytics platform Arkham, the Royal Government of Bhutan transferred around 100.44 BTC to another address on Tuesday. The transfer was valued at approximately $8.2 million at current market prices.
The transaction is being seen as the latest step in Bhutan’s accelerating Bitcoin outflows in recent months. According to Arkham, the transfers took place in three separate transactions at 08:27 Turkey time. The BTC was sent to an unlabeled address beginning with “bc1qn,” which has not been linked to any institution or exchange.
Bhutan’s Bitcoin Sales Draw Attention
Arkham said more than $230 million worth of BTC has flowed out of Bhutan-linked addresses since the start of the year. This suggests that the country may have sold around $50 million worth of Bitcoin per month throughout 2026. Analysts noted that if Bhutan were to sell all of its BTC at current prices, it would exit the market with $767 million in onchain profit.
Still, the exact purpose of the latest transfer remains unknown. Some previous transfers were linked to platforms such as Binance and investment firm Galaxy Digital. For this reason, the market is also interpreting the latest movement as a possible preparation for a sale.
However, there is another possibility. The latest transaction may have been intended to move funds from an older Bitcoin address format to a newer one. According to Arkham, the BTC was moved from an old-style address beginning with “3” to a more modern SegWit address beginning with “bc1q.” This indicates that the transaction may have been a wallet update or fund consolidation rather than a direct sale.
Bhutan Still Holds $252 Million Worth of BTC
Despite the recent outflows, Bhutan still holds a significant amount of Bitcoin. According to Arkham data, the country holds around 3,119 BTC. These assets are currently valued at approximately $252.3 million.
However, Bhutan’s Bitcoin balance has fallen sharply compared to last year. The country’s BTC holdings peaked at around 13,000 BTC in October 2024. Since the beginning of this year, the balance has dropped by nearly 3,000 BTC. This trend strengthens the view that Bhutan has been gradually reducing its Bitcoin reserves.
Bhutan’s Bitcoin story differs from that of many other countries. While many governments usually obtain Bitcoin through seizures linked to illegal activity, Bhutan built most of its reserves through mining. The country’s state investment arm, Druk Holding & Investments, used Bhutan’s abundant hydroelectric resources to mine Bitcoin.
This model has made Bhutan a notable example in the crypto world. Despite its small population and limited economic scale, the country long stood out as one of the largest state-linked Bitcoin holders in the world.
According to Bitcoin Treasuries data, Bhutan ranks eighth among known nation-state Bitcoin holders. The countries ahead of it include the United States, China, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, El Salvador, the United Arab Emirates and Kazakhstan.
Has Mining Activity Stopped?
Recently, there has also been debate over whether Bhutan is still continuing its Bitcoin mining activity. According to Arkham, the last major BTC inflow of more than $100,000 to Bhutan-linked addresses took place more than a year ago. This has increased speculation that the country may have slowed down or completely halted its mining operations.
