Suspicions that Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), an investment company backed by the Bhutanese government, were selling Bitcoin have sparked controversy following statements from Bhutanese officials.
According to data from Arkham Intelligence, around $1 billion worth of Bitcoin has been withdrawn from wallets believed to belong to Bhutan since July 2025, but DHI executives said they had no recollection of any sales.
Bhutan, a small Asian country located in the Himalayas, is known as the second country after El Salvador to officially mine and hold Bitcoin reserves. This year alone, around $207 million worth of Bitcoin was transferred to various exchanges and trading companies from wallets believed to belong to Bhutan’s sovereign wealth fund DHI, according to data tracked by on-chain data platform Arcam Intelligence.
According to Arkham data, about 13,000 funds were held in wallets linked to Bhutan. $BTC By October 2024, this number had decreased to approximately 3,100 people $BTC As of Friday. It is estimated that if current rates continue, Bhutan could sell all its Bitcoin holdings by October 2026.
However, DHI CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal said: $BTC” The company also responded to questions about wallet activity tracked by Arkham by saying, “Our statement remains valid. We have nothing further to add.”
Bhutan did not directly dispute Arcam’s wallet verification claims, but it also did not confirm how much Bitcoin it held. However, Arkham says Bhutan has been actively mining Bitcoin since at least 2019, and the government has funded at least four mining facilities in the country.
Analysts at Arkham noted that transferring assets to centralized exchanges or OTC trading companies is generally for the purpose of sale. However, analysts added that it is not possible to conclusively prove whether a transfer represents a sale because the order books of centralized exchanges are not visible on-chain.
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Meanwhile, a source close to one of the trading companies buying Bitcoin from Bhutan-linked wallets suggested that no sales have taken place recently. This raises the possibility that the transfers occurred through custodial services, collateral, credit, or over-the-counter transactions rather than direct spot sales.
In December, the Bhutanese government announced it would allocate up to 10,000 people. $BTC For the development of Gelephu Mindfulness City, a special economic zone to be built in the south of the country. The promise, worth about $860 million at the time of publication, is said to be inconsistent with Bhutan’s estimated value. $BTC Amount held according to current on-chain data.
However, DHI CEO Dahal said early and consistent rainfall this year supported hydropower generation and allowed mining operations to continue actively. Dahal also said that all Bitcoin mining in Bhutan is powered by renewable energy and is moving to next-generation equipment to remain competitive.
*This is not investment advice.
