Bhutan Sells 70% of Bitcoin Reserves in 18 Months, Sovereign Mining Experiment May Have Ended

BlockBeats News, April 11: According to on-chain data from Arkham, the Kingdom of Bhutan has been continuously liquidating its Bitcoin holdings. In October 2024, Bhutan's sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding and Investments, held approximately 13,000 Bitcoins, but now only 3,954 remain, with a market value of about $280.6 million. Over the past 18 months, it has reduced its holdings by approximately 70%, including $215.7 million worth of Bitcoin sold this year alone. Meanwhile, Bhutan's Bitcoin mining operations also appear to have come to a halt—on-chain data shows its last mining revenue exceeding $100,000 was recorded more than a year ago, and Druk Holdings has not disclosed any related updates. Economic pressures are the primary reason. Bhutan leveraged its hydropower resources for Bitcoin mining, which was profitable when network difficulty was low and Bitcoin prices exceeded $90,000. However, with Bitcoin now hovering around $71,000, network difficulty at an all-time high, and block rewards reduced to 3.125 BTC post-halving, the profit margins for small-scale sovereign mining have significantly shrunk. Analysts suggest that directly selling hydropower to India may be more cost-effective than continuing mining operations. Bhutan's sell-off contrasts sharply with the direction of major global institutions—Strategy purchased 4,871 Bitcoins for $330 million last weekend, and U.S. spot ETFs saw a net inflow of approximately 50,000 Bitcoins in March alone. Bhutan's remaining holdings are even less than what Strategy typically buys in a single week.