Bhutan Moves $8.5M in Bitcoin as 2026 Outflows Hit $158.57M

Highlights:

• Bhutan has transferred $8.5 million worth of BTC away from its main wallet addresses. 
• In 2026 alone, the nation’s government moved $158.57 million in BTC to market makers, exchanges, and other destinations.
• Despite moving significant portions of BTC, Bhutan still holds over $200 million worth of digital assets.

Bhutan’s government has moved $8.5 million in BTC from its main holding addresses to entirely new ones. Arkham Intelligence, a renowned on-chain intelligence platform, spotted the transaction and reported it in a recent tweet. Since the beginning of this year, Bhutan has transferred $158.57 million in BTC out of its main holding addresses. 

On the other hand, the country’s holding addresses have received $33.84 million in BTC within the same period. “This suggests a net movement of approximately $120 million to market makers, cryptocurrency exchanges, or trading firms like QCP Capital,” Arkham Intelligence added. 

Bhutan’s government has been selling its BTC holdings in tranches of $5 million to $10 million and sold 3,500 BTC in mid-late September last year. In recent weeks, the nation’s outbound transfers spiked significantly. In 2026 alone, Bhutan slashed its BTC holdings by 1,700 tokens. 

Bhutan just moved $8.5 Million of Bitcoin out of its main holding addresses.

This transfer went almost entirely to a fresh address with a separate address type from Bhutan’s holding addresses. pic.twitter.com/hFE7YEBDFF

— Arkham (@arkham) March 28, 2026

Overview of Bhutan’s Government Crypto Portfolio

Despite the consistent token transfers, the Bhutan government still maintains a robust crypto portfolio. On-chain data revealed that a wallet labelled “Royal Government of Bhutan (Druk Holdings)” holds roughly $287.5 million in digital assets. Bitcoin accounts for over 90% of the assets in the nation’s portfolio. 

For context, the wallet holds 4,329 BTC worth $287.46 million at an average cost of $66,402 per token. The wallet also holds 29.355 Ethereum (ETH) tokens worth $58,810 at approximately $2,003 per ETH. The remaining assets in the portfolio have a combined net valuation that is less than $1,000. Some of them include KIBSHI, APU, PHIL, LNQ, BNB, USDT, and POSI. 

Bitcoin’s Price Continues to Dip as Bhutan Shifts $8.5M in BTC

At the time of press, the crypto market is down 1.9% in the past 24 hours. Its market capitalization is $2 376 trillion, with a trading volume of approximately $99.793 billion. Bitcoin’s dominance has dropped slightly to 56%, while ETH’s continues to sit at 10.2%. Bitcoin’s price is down 2% in the past 24 hours. It is trading at roughly $66,416, with a market cap of $1.3 trillion and a trading volume of $44.3 billion. Over the past week, month, and year, BTC has dropped by 6.1%, 2.1%, and 22.5%, respectively. The asset is also 47.3% below its all-time high price of $126,080. 

Supply inflation remains low at 0.86%, while volatility is medium at 3.09%. Sentiment remains bearish, while “Fear & Greed Index” continues to point towards “Extreme Fear” at 12. Based on current performance, BTC has outperformed 59% of the top 100-ranked cryptocurrencies. 

Bitcoin Faces Increased Selling Pressure

Earlier today, Lookonchain, an on-chain transactions tracker, reported that a whale appears to have sold 4,500 BTC for $295.5 million. “NYDIG transferred 4,500 $BTC($295.5M) to Wintermute, Cumberland, FalconX, B2C2 Group, and Galaxy Digital 8 hours ago, likely for selling,” the on-chain tracker stated. 

The increased selling pressure also extended to Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs). Sosovalue’s data showed that Bitcoin ETFs recorded another net outflow on 27 March. According to the ETF tracker, Bitcoin funds lost $225.48 million yesterday, marking their second consecutive loss, after forfeiting $171.22 million on 26 March. The ETFs also had net outflows of about $74.53 million on 24 March. Overall, the funds ended the week in net outflows worth $296.18 million, marking their first weekly outflow since 20 February.

A whale appears to have sold 4,500 $BTC($295.5M).

NYDIG transferred 4,500 $BTC($295.5M) to Wintermute, Cumberland, FalconX, B2C2 Group, and Galaxy Digital 8 hours ago, likely for selling.https://t.co/tfAvVBvKFl pic.twitter.com/hckc5rB58J

— Lookonchain (@lookonchain) March 28, 2026