Bitcoin

Arkham

April

when

Polygon

The South Asian country of Bhutan is apparently a major Bitcoin holder with even more of the cryptocurrency than El Salvador.&nbsp;
On Sept. 16, onchain analytics platform Arkham Intelligence pointed to a group of addresses holding 13,029 BTC (around $758 million), claiming it is the first to publicly identify Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings.
It <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://twitter.com/ArkhamIntel/status/1835712533854118072" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">added</a> that these holdings come from Bitcoin mining operations carried out by the Kingdom of Bhutan’s investment arm, Druk Holdings (DHI).
Arkham’s data also reveals that Druk Holdings also holds 656 ETH worth around $1.5 million, along with a small amount of BNB (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/binance-coin-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">BNB</a>) and Polygon (<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/polygon-price-index" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">MATIC</a>).&nbsp;
<figure><img alt="Bhutan has twice as much Bitcoin as El Salvador, says Arkham" name="" src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2024-09/0191fe91-2e36-7d63-af54-aab8e8333f56">
 <figcaption style="text-align: center;">
 Royal Government of Bhutan crypto holdings. Source: Arkham Intelligence
 </figcaption>
</figure>
Arkham added that it was able to corroborate the timeline of onchain mining activity with time-lapse satellite imagery of facility construction at the site of the now-defunct Education City project.
Bhutan’s gross domestic product is expected to reach $3 billion by the end of 2024, meaning that its reported <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/bitcoin-price" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">BTC</a> holdings represent around a quarter of its GDP.
According to a report in local media in early 2023, Bhutanese officials <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bhutan-bitcoin-mining-with-hydropower-since-btc-price-was-5-000" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">confirmed</a> that mining using hydroelectric power began in April 2019 when the price of Bitcoin was around $5,000.
In May 2023, DHI partnered with Bitdeer to develop carbon-neutral mining operations in Bhutan. In April 2024, they unveiled upgrades to raise Bhutan’s mining capacity by 500 megawatts by the first half of 2025, increasing the total capacity to 600MW.
<h2 id="how-it-differs-from-el-salvador">How it differs from El Salvador</h2>
Comparatively, El Salvador started its Bitcoin acquisitions in September 2021 when BTC prices were $51,700.&nbsp;
According to the Nayib Tracker website, which <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://nayibtracker.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">tracks</a> the country’s portfolio, it currently holds 5,875 BTC worth $331 million, around 45% of Bhutan’s holdings.
Moreover, these were acquired at a much higher price, with an average dollar cost of $43,900 and an aggregate&nbsp;<a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/el-salvador-bitcoin-three-years-anniversary" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">profit</a>&nbsp;of 32.6% for Central American country.&nbsp;
Related: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bhutan-mining-upgrade-offset-bitcoin-halving-effects" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">Bhutan’s DHI to offset halving effects with Bitcoin mining upgrade</a>
However, El Salvador also uses renewable power to mine BTC using geothermal volcanic energy.&nbsp;
Cointelegraph contacted DHI for further details but did not receive an immediate response.&nbsp;
Bhutan is a landlocked Buddhist kingdom on the eastern foothills of the Himalayas with a population of just 790,000. Comparatively, El Salvador has a population of 6.3 million.&nbsp;
Magazine: <a data-ct-non-breakable="null" href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/ai-more-power-hungry-bitcoin-profits-pose-risks-bitcoin-miners/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="null" text="null" title="null">AI may already use more power than Bitcoin — and it threatens Bitcoin mining</a>

Bhutan has twice as much Bitcoin as El Salvador, says Arkham

Table of Contents

Cointelegraph

Other articles published on Sep 17, 2024

Magic Eden Launches New US Domain, Separates Services for US and International Users

Next 10,000% Rally? Expert Who Spotted Solana Reveals a Bullish Token Under $0.10

Trader Known for Spotting 100x Cryptos Exits Ethereum (ETH) Position, Allocates 80% of Portfolio ...

Interest Rates Impact Cryptocurrency Investors

Bhutan Accumulates Over 13,000 Bitcoins

eToro Limits U.S. Crypto Offerings to BTC, ETH, and BCH After $1.5M SEC Settlement

Join our free newsletter for daily crypto updates!