Bhutan, A Country Betting 9% of Its GDP on Bitcoin
Bhutan, a small Himalayan kingdom, has made a dramatic and high-stakes bet on Bitcoin, investing up to 9% of its GDP in cryptocurrency mining infrastructure. The country leveraged its abundant hydroelectric power—a natural resource that often produces surplus energy—to mine Bitcoin starting around 2019-2020. This initiative was led by its sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), under CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal, as a strategic move to diversify foreign reserves and escape economic dependency on India, which buys most of Bhutan's electricity under restrictive terms.
At its peak, Bhutan held an estimated 13,000 Bitcoin. However, it has since sold significant portions to address fiscal needs, including a $72 million sale in 2023 to fund a 50% salary increase for public servants amid a severe brain drain. More ambitiously, the government pledged up to 10,000 Bitcoin (worth ~$1 billion) to fund the Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), a proposed special economic zone with a projected cost of $100 billion—nearly 30 times Bhutan’s 2025 GDP.
The country also engaged in sophisticated on-chain strategies, such as using ETH as collateral for loans on platforms like Aave, though it faced near-liquidation during market downturns. While Bitcoin mining has helped reduce the current account deficit and boost reserves, it hasn’t solved deep-seated issues like youth unemployment, which remains high at 18%, driving significant emigration. Despite national-level gains, many citizens continue to seek opportunities abroad, highlighting the disconnect between macroeconomic gambles and everyday livelihoods.
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