Bhutan Sells 70% of Bitcoin Reserve Within 18 Months, Sovereign Mining Experiment Likely Abandoned

April 11 — Arkham on-chain data shows Bhutan is continuing to divest its Bitcoin holdings. Bhutan’s sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding and Investments, held ~13,000 BTC in October 2024. It now has just 3,954 BTC left, worth ~$280.6 million. Over the past 18 months, ~70% of its holdings have been sold, with $215.7 million worth of BTC transferred this year alone. Additionally, Bhutan’s Bitcoin mining operations appear to have ceased: on-chain data indicates the last mining payout exceeding $100,000 occurred over a year ago, and Druk Holdings has not publicly disclosed any related updates. Economic pressure is the primary driver. Bhutan’s mining relies on hydropower, which was profitable when hash rate difficulty was low and BTC prices topped $90,000. Today, BTC hovers around $71,000, network difficulty is at an all-time high, and post-halving block rewards have dropped to 3.125 BTC — slashing margins for small-scale sovereign mining. Analysts note selling hydropower directly to India and other markets is more cost-effective than continuing operations. Bhutan’s sell-off contrasts sharply with global mainstream institutions: MicroStrategy spent $330 million last weekend to add 4,871 BTC, while U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs saw net inflows of ~50,000 BTC in March alone. Bhutan’s remaining holdings are less than MicroStrategy’s typical weekly purchase volume.