Two Sovereign Bitcoin Playbooks Diverge
On-chain trackers reported the Royal Government of Bhutan sold roughly 435 BTC (~$28M) after a month's pause, continuing a drawdown from a ~13,000 BTC peak (late 2024) to around 3,100 today — widely attributed to funding its Gelephu Mindfulness City, though Bhutan officials deny selling. El Salvador, by contrast, continues weekly accumulation despite IMF scrutiny. Bhutan mined its coins with hydropower; mining inflows have reportedly stopped.
Bhutan vs El Salvador: two ways to hold
Bhutan mined its Bitcoin cheaply with hydropower, then, on-chain trackers say, sold it in careful chunks to fund a new city (though Bhutan denies selling). Roughly 13,000 coins down to 3,000-4,000. No fresh mining coming in to refill the pile.
El Salvador does the opposite: buys every week, holds through IMF pressure, treats the coins as something you keep.
One country treated Bitcoin as a bridge to something else. The other treats it as the destination.
A reserve you spend down on schedule was never really a reserve. It was a savings account with an exit date.
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- El Salvador Bitcoin havenEl Salvador's ongoing Bitcoin treasury accumulation strategy
4 sources
- After a month of inactivity, Royal Government of Bhutan sold another 434.87 $BTC ($27.93M). · lookonchain.com · T2
- Royal Government of Bhutan sells 434 BTC for $28M as sovereign Bitcoin treasury continues to shrink · cryptobriefing.com · T2
- Whale Accumulation: New Wallet Receives 1,346 $BTC ($87.28M) From Galaxy Digital · lookonchain.com · T2
- El Salvador's bitcoin stack keeps ticking up as the IMF looks on · bsc.news · T2