Bhutanese Government Mined Over $750 Million in Bitcoin

While many other countries seized Bitcoin from busting criminal activities, Bhutan directly mined the currency using renewable energy.

On-chain data platform Arkham Intelligence has published a cluster of wallet addresses believed to be owned by Bhutan, a small country located right in the Himalayas, showing that the country's government is holding a huge amount of Bitcoin.

Specifically, Bhutanese crypto wallet addresses own up to $755 million in cryptocurrency, mostly in the form of Bitcoin ($754 million), the rest are tiny amounts of major altcoins such as ETH, POL (MATIC), BNB, ...

As reported, Bhutan admitted in May 2023 that it had been mining Bitcoin since 2019, using the abundant hydroelectric power source here.

The amount of BTC has made Bhutan the fourth largest Bitcoin holder in the world, after the US, China and the UK. However, unlike those other powers, which earn Bitcoin mainly from cracking down on criminal activities, Bhutan actively mines this cryptocurrency through Druk Holdings.

El Salvador to present zero-deficit budget for 2025

El Salvador's president will present a zero-deficit budget for 2025 to Congress. This is the first time in decades that El Salvador has stopped borrowing both domestically and internationally.
Speaking at the country's 203rd Independence Day celebration, El Salvador's President Nayib Bukele announced that he will present a zero-deficit budget for 2025 to the Legislative Assembly.

Bukele pledged that El Salvador will not spend more than it earns, including paying interest on its debt from domestic sources, without borrowing more. He is confident that the country will become more financially independent, and future generations will inherit a prosperous economy.

Finance Minister Jerson Posada said this is "the first time in decades that El Salvador has had a policy of not issuing debt, both domestically and internationally."

Mr Bukele controls a majority in Congress, with 57 of the 60 seats held by his Nuevas Ideas party (54) and its allies (3).

There is no denying Nayib Bukele's leadership. When he took office in 2019, El Salvador's budget deficit was $1.2 billion. While the Central American country's 2024 budget has total spending of $9.1 billion, it has managed to bring the deficit down to $338 million.

An important point is that El Salvador cannot print its own money to cover the deficit, since in 2001 it switched to using the US dollar as its main currency instead of the national currency. This means it does not control the issuance of its currency, as many other countries can do with their own currencies.

El Salvador is also famous for being the first country in the world to recognize Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. However, the use of Bitcoin is not yet widespread enough to help the government reduce its deficit or offset spending significantly.

Although the government has not publicly disclosed details of its Bitcoin purchases, according to NayibTracker, El Salvador currently holds 5,875 Bitcoins worth about $330.4 million, with unrealized gains estimated at $43.2 million. Late last month, Bukele admitted that Bitcoin adoption has not met initial expectations, but has not had any negative consequences.

Also in August, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) discussed with the government of El Salvador and noted progress in negotiations to implement a support program focused on strengthening public finances, increasing bank reserves, improving transparent governance, and mitigating risks from Bitcoin.