As of the latest data, Bhutan has emerged as a surprising leader in state-held Bitcoin (BTC) with reserves of $782.46 million, ahead of El Salvador with reserves of $351.75 million.
Despite its small population of 782,000, Bhutan’s Bitcoin reserves are more than twice that of El Salvador, which has 6.3 million people. The feat puts Bhutan third on the Sovereign Bitcoin Assets Leaderboard, behind the US ($12.16 billion) and the UK ($3.67 billion).
Bhutan’s significant Bitcoin holdings can be attributed to the country’s growing mining operations, which began in April 2019 when BTC was valued at around $5,000. The country’s sovereign investment arm, Druk Holding & Investments, confirmed its foray into mining at the time. Since then, Bhutan has used its vast hydropower resources to fuel large-scale mining operations.
Bhutan’s Himalayan glacier-fed rivers provide a significant source of clean, renewable energy, with 23,760 MW of technically feasible hydroelectric capacity. Hydroelectricity accounts for 30% of Bhutan’s GDP, and in 2003, 99.5% of the country’s electricity came from hydropower. This clean energy infrastructure has allowed Bhutan to maintain its environmental commitments while expanding its Bitcoin mining operations.
To put Bhutan’s hydroelectric potential into perspective, the country’s total applicable capacity could power more than 17 million American homes, or more than double the energy needs of a city like New York.
*This is not investment advice.