Bhutan’s recent on-chain activity has reignited an oddball question in crypto: is the Himalayan kingdom still mining Bitcoin — or is it now mostly liquidating an older stash?
On Thursday blockchain investigator Arkham flagged another $44.44 million in BTC flowing out of wallets it ties to Bhutan, bringing the 24‑hour total from those addresses to about $72.3 million. The pattern caught extra attention because Arkham also noted the last inbound transfer to those same addresses above $100,000 was recorded more than a year ago — a gap that suggests the known wallets aren’t receiving fresh mining rewards.
Why that matters
- If the identified addresses aren’t getting new coin, one straightforward reading is that Bhutan’s state-backed mining operation has slowed or stopped and the country is selling down a reserve.
- Arkham has been tracking a steady selling rhythm: it reported a $27.8 million transfer the day before, about $11 million last week (including to an address seen before), and recurring clips of roughly $5–$10 million — with particularly heavy activity around mid-to-late September 2025.
But the picture isn’t settled
Bhutan’s mining program was secret for years and only became public during probes tied to the bankruptcies of Celsius and BlockFi. That history leaves room for alternative explanations:
- Bhutan’s mining arm (often referred to as DHI in coverage) could still be operating but routing newly minted BTC to different, as-yet-unlinked wallets to mask activity.
- Seasonality matters: Bhutan’s model leans on hydropower. Winter brings lower rainfall and weaker generation; summer can produce large surpluses that enable more mining. A lull in visible inflows could simply reflect seasonal swings in electricity availability.
Policy context
Bhutan has framed its Bitcoin holdings as long-term and strategic, not short-term speculation. In a statement tied to the Gelephu Mindfulness City project the country said, “Bitcoin is not being held as an object of speculation. It is being set aside with purpose. This is not an experiment. It is a commitment.” How that commitment translates into on-chain behavior now — selling, steady accumulation via secret wallets, or seasonal stops and starts — remains unclear.
The takeaway
The immediate story isn’t just that Bhutan moved more BTC — it’s that one of the most closely watched sovereign Bitcoin holders has grown harder to read just as public wallets show distribution rather than accumulation. Until new inflows appear or new wallet infrastructure is linked to Bhutan, the key question Arkham raised stands: not whether Bhutan is moving Bitcoin, but whether it is still producing it.
At press time BTC traded around $70,394.
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