On April 10, the government of Bhutan sold 250 BTC for $18 million. Since the beginning of the year, authorities have withdrawn approximately $180 million from the national Bitcoin reserve.
THE DRAGON KING IS SELLING BITCOIN
— Arkham (@arkham) April 10, 2026
The Fifth Dragon King of Bhutan, Druk Gyalpo Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, just sold $18M of BTC.
Bhutan has sold approximately $180M Bitcoin since the start of the year. pic.twitter.com/IedWLUK8D0
According to Arkham Intelligence, at its peak in October 2024, the kingdom owned about 13,000 BTC. Over the past 18 months, the sovereign wealth fund Druk Holding and Investments has gradually liquidated around 71% of its assets. As of this writing, the government-controlled wallet holds approximately 3,774 BTC valued at $274.8 million.
Bhutan's Bitcoin reserve was built through state-supported mining using excess hydroelectric power.
However, the last recorded inflow to the national crypto fund from the Foundry USA pool operator was on November 13, 2024, amounting to approximately 0.9 BTC (around $75,730 at the time of the transaction).
Due to the prolonged pause in replenishing the national reserve, journalist Colin Wu speculated that the government may have ceased cryptocurrency mining operations.
In 2025, the Bitcoin mining economy sharply declined. Increasing network difficulty, debt burdens, and stagnant cryptocurrency prices led to the capitulation of about 20% of miners, according to CoinShares.
CoinDesk suggested that the profitability of Bhutan's small-scale Bitcoin farm has suffered under these conditions, making direct electricity sales to neighboring India significantly more profitable.
It is worth noting that in the first quarter of 2026, the hash rate of the first cryptocurrency decreased by approximately 6%.