Bhutan, the landlocked nation in the Himalayas, is dumping some of its bitcoin in an effort to stay ahead of the crypto market downturn.
Bhutan Trims Bitcoin Stash as Market Downturn Plagues Crypto Holdings
5 February 2026 - 10:28 CET
An active bitcoin miner that began operations in 2019, Bhutan went heavy on the cryptocurrency in 2023, mining over 8,200 bitcoin before the 2024 halving.
Playing the market
The latest selling activity appears to be more about a sovereign country reacting to market dynamics and being cautious, rather than exiting its holdings entirely.
The nation generally sells its bitcoin, mostly in batches of $50mn, during market freefalls, according to data from Arkham Intelligence.
Despite the periodic sales, Bhutan is still sitting on $403mn worth of bitcoin and a small quantity of ether and other tokens.
Ethereum leverage
Druk Holding and Investments (DCI), the nation's sovereign fund named after the mythological "thunder dragon" that adorns its flag, recently pivoted to decentralized finance to open a massive, leveraged long position in ether.
A potentially risky move, the leveraged positions indicated that Bhutan wants to move away from being just another nation mining bitcoin and become an active part of the massive crypto derivatives market.
With ether holding near $2,100 and a liquidation level of $1,400, the long position is still a way away from being closed. However, should ether drop to $1,400, it would mark the first time a country's assets would be used to pay off anonymous crypto lenders.
