Bhutan Denies Bitcoin Sell-Off, On-Chain Data Points to Around $1 Billion BTC Outflow Sparking Controversy

BlockBeats News, May 16th - On-chain analytics firm Arkham Data revealed that over the past year, over $1 billion worth of Bitcoin has flowed out of wallets associated with Bhutan. The funds were sent to multiple exchanges and trading entities, causing the holdings to drop from around 13,000 BTC to about 3,100 BTC. Arkham speculates that this might indicate a continuous sell-off activity, and if the trend continues, the associated addresses may empty their holdings by October 2026.

However, Bhutan's sovereign wealth fund, Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), stated that they "do not recall any recent Bitcoin sales" and did not comment on specific on-chain address movements or confirm their current holdings. They only emphasized that they had no further comments to add.

Reports have suggested that some of the outgoing funds were directed to institutions such as Galaxy Digital and OKX, leading the market to interpret this as selling or off-exchange trading. However, other possibilities include funds being moved to custody, used as collateral, or engaged in structured transactions, indicating a non-selling activity. Additionally, individuals from trading entities have mentioned that there have been no clear sell-offs recently.

Moreover, Bhutan's commitment to a 10,000 BTC reserve for the "Gelephu Mindfulness City" project has come under scrutiny due to the potential sell-off. Currently, there is significant disagreement in the public domain regarding the actual holdings of Bhutan and the status of its mining operations.