Ethereum

2024

Crown

Polygon

The South Asian nation of Bhutan is migrating its self-sovereign ID system to Ethereum from Polygon, allowing its nearly 800,000 residents to verify their identities and access government services.
The integration with Ethereum has been completed, while the migration of all resident credentials is expected to finish by the first quarter of 2026, <a href="https://x.com/AyaMiyagotchi/status/1977798764485361966" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">according</a> to Ethereum Foundation President Aya Miyaguchi, who joined Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin at the launch ceremony with Bhutan’s prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, and crown prince, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuk.
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-10/0199dffc-e9e4-7b16-89d1-0a4ee90b48a8" title="" alt="Bhutan migrates its national ID system to Ethereum">
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 Source: <a href="https://x.com/AyaMiyagotchi/status/1977798764485361966" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="https://x.com/AyaMiyagotchi/status/1977798764485361966">Aya Miyaguchi</a>
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 “It’s deeply inspiring to see a nation commit to empowering its citizens with self-sovereign identity,” Miyaguchi <a href="https://x.com/AyaMiyagotchi/status/1977798767765258691" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">posted</a> to X on Monday, adding that the Ethereum integration was a world-first.&nbsp;
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 “This milestone marks not only a national achievement but a global step toward a more open and secure digital future for the long term.”
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Integrating a blockchain-based solution into a government’s national ID system has long been touted as a promising crypto use case, due to its immutability, transparency and privacy features, particularly when zero-knowledge proofs are implemented.
<h2 id="ethereum-is-bhutan-s-third-blockchain-national-id-solution">Ethereum is Bhutan’s third blockchain national ID solution</h2>
Bhutan previously ran its <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/bhutan-decentralized-identity" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">national ID system</a> on <a href="https://www.bhutanndi.com/article/press-release-dhi-announces-bhutan-ndi-s-migration-to-the-polygon-blockchain-for-enhanced-user-experience-and-scalability_82080061-7100-468b-803e-7fde59205f6b" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">Polygon</a> from August 2024 and Hyperledger Indy before that. <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/brazil-rolls-out-blockchain-based-digital-id" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Brazil</a> and <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/vietnam-ndachain-national-blockchain-launch-2025" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Vietnam</a> are among the few other countries that have partially integrated blockchain-based self-sovereign identity solutions to date.
Related: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/crypto-funds-attract-3-2b-inflows-despite-friday-s-flash-crash" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Crypto funds attract $3.2B inflows despite Friday’s flash crash</a>
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 <img src="https://s3.cointelegraph.com/uploads/2025-10/0199dffc-eddf-7e91-97c7-db86f2d9b8bd" title="" alt="Bhutan migrates its national ID system to Ethereum">
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 Source: <a href="https://x.com/timourxyz/status/1977783889222357277" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="https://x.com/timourxyz/status/1977783889222357277">Timour Kosters</a> 
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Miyaguchi noted that Bhutan’s National Digital Identity and GovTech teams played a crucial role in the Ethereum integration, as well as other contributors in the Bhutan crypto community.
<h2 id="bhutan-has-been-stacking-bitcoin">Bhutan has been stacking Bitcoin</h2>
Bhutan — a country that measures national progress by Gross National Happiness — has quietly become a leader in <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/sub-saharan-africa-third-fastest-growing-region-crypto-adoption-report" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">crypto adoption</a> in recent years. It is currently the fifth-largest Bitcoin-holding nation-state, having amassed its holdings through mining using renewable energy at its Himalayan hydropower dams.
It currently holds 11,286 Bitcoin worth $1.31 billion, trailing only the US, China, the UK, and Ukraine, BitBo’s Bitcoin Treasuries <a href="https://bitbo.io/treasuries/countries/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">data</a> shows.
Bhutan may also be exploring other crypto initiatives, having <a href="https://x.com/cz_binance/status/1972356197501358430" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" target="_blank">met</a> with former Binance CEO <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/news/trump-white-house-mulls-cz-pardon-binance" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">Changpeng Zhao</a> in late September — though the details of their discussions were not disclosed.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
 Pay in <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BNB?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">#BNB</a> using <a href="https://twitter.com/binance?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">@Binance</a> Pay in Bhutan🇧🇹, nice and easy. 😏 <a href="https://t.co/B5p3YolJjJ" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">pic.twitter.com/B5p3YolJjJ</a>— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) <a href="https://twitter.com/cz_binance/status/1972532097421377601?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">September 29, 2025</a>
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Magazine: <a href="https://cointelegraph.com/magazine/europe-chat-control-germany-oppose-scan-messages/" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow">EU’s privacy-killing Chat Control bill delayed — but fight isn’t over</a>

Bhutan migrates its national ID system to Ethereum

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