Bhutan Quietly Sells Bitcoin Reserves, Stack Down 58% From Peak

Bhutan's state-owned investment arm, Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), has been steadily liquidating the country's Bitcoin holdings throughout early 2026, with on-chain data revealing roughly $42.5 million in outflows so far this year.

The most recent move came late Monday when DHI transferred 175 BTC worth approximately $11.85 million to a wallet address that also received 184 BTC in February, pointing to a consistent treasury counterparty or OTC arrangement. February's activity was broader, involving four separate transactions — including two transfers totaling around 200 BTC sent to QCP Capital's merchant deposit address and a $1.5 million USDT transfer to a Binance hot wallet. Routing funds to a trading firm's deposit address twice in a single month signals active OTC selling or structured liquidity management rather than routine cold wallet transfers.

Bhutan's Bitcoin stack peaked near 13,000 BTC in late 2024, accumulated over several years through state-backed hydroelectric mining. Since then, holdings have dropped to approximately 5,400 BTC — a 58% reduction in coin count. With Bitcoin trading around $69,000 today versus its prior highs near $119,000, a position once worth over $1.5 billion has fallen to an estimated $374 million.

Despite the sharp decline in paper value, Bhutan's cost basis is effectively zero. The country mined its entire stack using surplus hydropower, meaning every sale represents pure profit — a stark contrast to corporate Bitcoin treasuries that purchased at market prices.

In December 2024, Bhutan announced a national Bitcoin Development Pledge committing up to 10,000 BTC toward funding Gelephu Mindfulness City, a planned special economic zone designed to integrate digital assets into its financial infrastructure. The steady, patterned nature of these transfers — consistent counterparties, similar transaction sizes, and no obvious reaction to price fluctuations — suggests a deliberate, pre-planned drawdown strategy rather than panic selling.