Bhutan City to Build Strategic Cryptocurrency Reserve Including Bitcoin and Ethereum

Bhutan's Gelephu Special Administrative Region (SAR), also known as Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), is set to create a strategic reserve that includes major digital assets like Bitcoin, Ethereum, and BNB.

The reserve aims to strengthen the region’s economic stability while exploring opportunities in Bitcoin mining.

In a January 8 announcement, the GMC outlined its plans to incorporate these digital assets as part of its financial strategy. The city intends to meet with key government figures and global industry experts in March to discuss further details. Unlike other regions focusing solely on Bitcoin, GMC plans to diversify its reserve by including other prominent cryptocurrencies that possess strong market capitalization and liquidity.

The city also emphasized the importance of adopting digital assets issued on secure and mature blockchains, ensuring that transactions can be tracked and verified with transparency. This initiative is part of the broader vision for GMC, which will be developed over 21 years, aiming to connect South Asia with Southeast Asia while operating with legal independence.

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The announcement follows Bhutan’s $100 million bond issuance for the GMC project, expected to be completed in phases. Bhutan has already been involved in the crypto space through Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), holding a significant amount of Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. DHI’s investments in Bitcoin date back to 2019, and the government continues to hold a substantial amount of crypto assets, including holdings from local mining operations and partnerships with firms like Bitdeer.