The Royal Government of Bhutan has made a significant move by depositing 929 BTC into crypto exchange Binance.
The activity was flagged shortly after BTC climbed above $70,000 for the first time since June 10.
Bitcoin Transfer to Binance
In its latest tweet, Lookonchain cited data from Arkham Intelligence, which revealed that the Bhutan government-linked wallet transferred the stash worth approximately $66.16 million through two transactions on October 29.
Currently, Bhutan holds 12,456 BTC which is nearly $891 million. The motives behind the transfer remain unclear but deposits to crypto exchanges are usually associated with plans to sell the assets, especially since this move comes at a time after bitcoin surged by over 5% in the past day, climbing above $71,700. BTC went even further in the following hours, by topping $73,000 for the first time since the ATH period in March.
Interestingly, this is the first time Bhutan has sent bitcoin to a crypto exchange since it deposited 381 BTC to Kraken in July. Additionally, nearly ten days ago, the country-linked wallet transferred 228.8 ETH, worth around $600,000, to a Binance hot wallet, leaving $1.72 million in Ether as its only other significant cryptocurrency holding.
Bhutan’s Bitcoin Reserves
Unlike many countries that obtain bitcoin through criminal seizures, Bhutan has been actively mining the cryptocurrency since 2017, when it was worth around $5,000, according to certain reports. The landlocked country situated in the Eastern Himalayas has been utilizing abundant hydroelectric resources for sustainable mining practices.
The Bhutanese government also partnered with the Nasdaq-listed mining company Bitdeer in May 2023 to develop a 100% carbon-free bitcoin mining operation in the country.
As a result of these efforts, Bhutan is now the fifth-largest known nation-state holder of BTC, trailing only the United States, China, the UK, and Ukraine, as per data compiled by Bitcoin Treasuries. The assets are held by Bhutan’s state investment arm, Druk Holding & Investments.
Bhutan also ventured into bitcoin mining as a new revenue stream in response to plummeting tourism revenues driven by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a local media ‘The Bhutanese,’ the funds generated from bitcoin mining helped finance a 50% salary increase for some government officials.
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