Bhutan has offloaded over $22 million in Bitcoin mined through its state-owned mining venture as the cryptocurrency’s price continues to tumble and mining conditions worsen.
Data from blockchain analytics platform Arkham shows that Bhutan moved 184 Bitcoin (BTC) worth $14 million from its national reserve on Wednesday, adding to another 100.8 Bitcoin transfer worth $8.3 million last Friday.
The $22.3 million worth of transfers were sent to crypto market maker QCP Capital, Arkham said. Transferring assets to market makers often indicates selling, as they help convert those assets into liquid markets.
The South Asian country has accumulated about $765 million worth of Bitcoin since launching its Bitcoin mining operations in 2019, which are powered primarily by hydroelectric energy, Arkham noted.
However, it pointed out that the cost to mine 1 Bitcoin has roughly doubled since the 2024 Bitcoin halving event, and that Bhutan is now mining far less Bitcoin than the 8,200 BTC it mined in 2023.
Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings have now fallen from a peak of 13,295 BTC in October 2024 to 5,700 BTC.
Bitcoin Treasuries data shows that Bhutan has slipped to seventh in Bitcoin holdings among nation-states, trailing US, China, UK, Ukraine, El Salvador and the United Arab Emirates.
While the exact reason behind the sell-off isn’t clear, Arkham noted that Bhutan periodically sells Bitcoin off in clips of around $50 million, with its most recent period of heavy selling coming in mid-to-late September 2025.
Cointelegraph reached out to Druk Holding and Investments, the state-owned entity behind Bhutan’s Bitcoin strategy, but didn’t receive an immediate response.
The fall in Bhutan’s Bitcoin holdings comes as Bitcoin has fallen 42.8% from its all-time high of $126,080 last October to below $72,000, with market sentiment over the past three months sinking to mid-2022 levels.
Bitcoin has slumped in light of US government shutdowns, President Donald Trump’s continued war and tariff threats and stalled crypto market structure legislation in Washington.
While global liquidity is near an all-time high, investors continue to turn from risk-on assets to safe havens like gold and silver amid broader macroeconomic uncertainty.
Related: US won’t ‘bail out’ Bitcoin, says Treasury Secretary Bessent
Quantum computing risks to Bitcoin’s security model and Bitcoin’s network hashrate falling below 1 zetahash per second due to more miners unplugging unprofitable machines have also contributed to some of the recent narratives surrounding Bitcoin.
