Bhutan government moves $66 million in bitcoin to Binance deposit address: Arkham

The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred approximately 929 BTC ($66.1 million) to a deposit address of crypto exchange Binance on Tuesday morning.

Bhutan initially transferred 100 BTC ($7.1 million) to Binance at 9:09 a.m. UTC, followed by another 839 BTC ($59 million) at 9:56 a.m. UTC, according to the onchain analytics platform Arkham, which began tracking its holdings in September.

It’s the first time Bhutan has sent bitcoin to a crypto exchange since it deposited 381 BTC, worth $24.1 million at the time, to Kraken on July 1, per Arkham’s data. The reason for the latest transfer is unknown, though such deposits to crypto exchanges are often made to sell the assets.

The move was initially noted by the blockchain analytics platform Lookonchain, which also highlighted that Bhutan still holds some 12,456 BTC, currently valued at around $886 million. Bhutan also sent 228.8 ETH ($600,000) to a Binance hot wallet address on Oct. 18, with its remaining $1.7 million in ether being its only other current substantial cryptocurrency holding.

The bitcoin is held in the custody of Bhutan's state investment wing, Druk Holding & Investments. Bhutan’s balance makes it the fifth-largest known nation-state holder of bitcoin behind the United States’ 203,239 BTC, China’s 190,000 BTC, the UK’s 61,245 BTC and Ukraine’s 46,351 BTC, according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.

However, while many countries tend to acquire their bitcoin via criminal seizures, Bhutan has been mining bitcoin to build up its reserves, leveraging the country's abundant hydroelectric power to drive eco-friendly mining operations.

Bitcoin is currently trading for $71,513, according to The Block's Bitcoin Price Page, up 6% over the past week to come within 4% of its prior all-time high of nearly $74,000 set in March.