Bhutan, the tiny Himalayan kingdom famous for prioritizing Gross National Happiness over GDP, has made one of the world’s boldest economic bets on cryptocurrency. By leveraging cheap, renewable hydropower to mine bitcoin, Bhutan has built a crypto reserve worth an estimated $1.3 billion, nearly 40% of its GDP. Since diversifying into crypto, the country has seen a dramatic drop in poverty, rising public-sector wages and a slowdown in brain drain. Bhutan has also launched global firsts, from a nationwide crypto payment system for tourists to a blockchain-based digital identity platform and a gold-backed digital token. While critics warn of crypto’s volatility, Bhutan’s experiment is being closely watched as a rare case where a government-led crypto strategy appears to be delivering tangible economic gains.
