Gelephu Mindfulness City, Bhutan’s Special Administrative Region, has announced plans to adopt digital assets, including bitcoin, ether and BNB, as part of its strategic reserves.
Once adopted, the SAR would become one of the first jurisdictions to officially hold cryptocurrencies as part of its strategic reserve. The initiative aims to improve SAR’s financial resilience, expanding its existing involvement in bitcoin mining, according to a statement was released on Wednesday.
SAR is an ambitious project for sustainable urban development and economic innovation in southern Bhutan, envisioned by King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck. Spanning 2,500 square kilometers near the India-Bhutan border, GMC claims it is uniquely positioned to serve the more than two billion people in the region with a central economic focus on promoting and supporting blockchain technology.
Without naming any other specific cryptocurrencies beyond BTC, ETH and BNB, the GMC said it “intends to recognize digital assets that have large market capitalizations and deep liquidity to ensure they can be easily bought and sold with minimal price impact.” The SAR will “look to recognize digital assets issued on more mature, secure blockchains that support monitoring of onchain transactions,” it added.
The GMC’s strategic reserve announcement follows the adoption of its Enforcement of Laws in December, which set out the legal and regulatory framework for GMC companies to offer financial services for digital assets.
In March, the GMC will host a high-level meeting, bringing together senior government officials and industry leaders worldwide to discuss the recognition of digital assets as strategic reserves.
Fifth largest nation-state holder of bitcoin
Bhutan is already the fifth largest known nation-state holder of bitcoin, with its 12,211 BTC ($1.2 billion) placing it only behind the US (208,109 BTC), China (190,000 BTC), the UK (61,245 BTC) and Ukraine (46,351 BTC), according to Bitcoin Treasuries data.
But while many countries tend to acquire their bitcoin via criminal seizures, Bhutan has been break the premier cryptocurrency, leveraging its abundant national hydropower infrastructure to power eco-friendly mining.
The GMC’s plans also come amid speculation that other nation states have begun acquiring the asset to run US President-elect Donald Trump’s campaign promise to establish a national bitcoin repository.
