Bitcoin News: Bhutan Sells $640 Million in BTC Sparking Concerns

Key Insights:

• Bhutan has made headlines in the Bitcoin news column with its recent BTC move.
• Bhutan offloads 319.7 Bitcoin in the latest round of outflows.
• The Royal Government of Bhutan has been one of the consistent sellers in the last few months.

The Royal Government of Bhutan is back on Bitcoin news headlines after offloading another tranche of Bitcoin from its national reserve. The country had built up a substantial BTC reserve, but it has been trimming its balances for almost 2 years now.

Bhutan made Bitcoin news headlines on Thursday. This was after Lookonchain caught yet another outflow from an address reportedly owned by the Royal Government of Bhutan.

Bhutan previously made crypto news for being one of the few countries to build up a sovereign Bitcoin reserve. It held 13,295 BTC at its peak in 2024. Most of that Bitcoin was acquired between 2023 and 2024.

The Royal Government of Bhutan has reportedly been offloading BTC since October 2024. It has so far sold off most of its holdings and its latest sale worth $22.68 million saw that sovereign Bitcoin reserve drop to 3,954 BTC.

Bitcoin News: Bhutan Sells 319.7 BTC | Source: Lookonchain

Bitcoin News: Is The Royal Government Of Bhutan Exiting BTC?

Bhutan has so far sold $610 million in BTC, which has made headlines in the Bitcoin news column. It has offloaded more than three-quarters of its collective BTC bag.

It was worth noting that the latest sale occurred after the Bitcoin price pushed above $70,000, potentially indicating that it made a profit.

The consistent outflows from the sovereign account suggest that the country might be planning to fully exit from its Bitcoin position. Although the country has not yet revealed plans to sell all its Bitcoin stash, the wallet balance drawdown has triggered speculation about a potential full exit.

Reports also indicated that Bhutan may be taking profits since it has been selling BTC that was mined at almost no mining cost. Moreover, the sale may be part of the Royal Government of Bhutan’s plan to secure revenue for administrative reasons.

Some analysts have been speculating on the reasons behind the sale. However, there was no clear reason given. After all, Bhutan mined Bitcoin since around 2021. Nevertheless, the same still raised some concern that more institutional holders may follow a similar trend.

The royal government of Bhutan’s decision was seen as a counter-intuitive move. Especially since Bitcoin is currently significantly discounted, thus the expectation is that countries will increasingly find BTC appealing.

Bitcoin (BTC) Gets Intertwined With Geopolitics

Another possible angle for Bhutan’s decision to sell its Bitcoin holdings, especially recently, may be rooted in geopolitics. Countries such as Iran have been using Bitcoin to bypass dollar sanctions.

It is possible that more countries are seeing Bitcoin as a tool for access to goods or services that would otherwise not be easily accessible. For example, Iran recently announced that it would accept crypto payments as a toll for the Strait of Hormuz.

Countries may thus offload some of their Bitcoin holdings so they can access oil to quench recent shortages. However, it remains unclear whether this may have been the key driving factor behind the latest Bhutan-related Bitcoin news.

In conclusion, Bhutan’s case is currently stirring up conversation about selling Bitcoin. However, it’s worth noting that it was likely selling at a profit since it was mined at low cost. It also highlights the different perspectives that institutional holders have.

Companies like MicroStrategy and Metaplanet continue to build up their positions, while others like BlackRock have offloaded a substantial amount of BTC in recent months. Even the US previously sold some of its BTC holdings despite claiming to be focused on building a 1 million BTC position.

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