Who would have thought an unassuming country like Bhutan, nestled in the Himalayas between China and India, would rank among the world's top holders of Bitcoin?
On September 16th, Arkham Intelligence revealed the public wallets of the Kingdom of Bhutan, uncovering a stash of over thirteen thousand coins.
In this post, we cover the top nation-state holders of Bitcoin, those who failed to make the list, and why a country might want to hold onto their crypto.
Top Nation-State Holders
How does Bhutan compare to other countries that already own Bitcoin?
Below is a table illustrating the amount of BTC each nation holds, and its corresponding $USD value (as of Sept 18th, 2024):
| Nation | BTC Held | $USD Value |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 203,239 | 12,293,920,437 |
| United Kingdom | 61,254 | 3,769,189,164 |
| Bhutan | 13,047 | 802,831,016 |
| El Salvador | 5,878 | 361,592,259 |
With over 200,000 coins, the United States holds the number one spot on the list.
Most of America's Bitcoin was confiscated in 2013 from the Silk Road marketplace. Instead of a thank you, Ross Ulbricht has received a life sentence for running the website.
Both US presidential candidates Donald Trump and Robert Kennedy have stated they want to add the confiscated Bitcoin to a national strategic reserve, and will pardon Ulbrict if elected.
Having confiscating 190,000 Bitcoin years ago in the PlusToken ponzi scheme, the Chinese government would have ranked #2 in the list, but investigations have revealed that most of the country's Bitcoin was sold between 2019 and 2020. For gold, perhaps?
The United Kingdom ends up taking the second spot for having confiscated 61,000 Bitcoin in 2018 from Jian Wen and Zhimin Qian. The pair were accused of investment fraud in China.
Germany would have ranked number three had they not made a decision back in July to sell the 50,000 Bitcoin they had confiscated from a movie piracy website called Movie2k.
Unlike the aforementioned countries which confiscated their Bitcoin from others, Bhutan proudly takes the #3 spot after quietly mining it themselves since 2019.
El Salvador
Although El Salvador ranks last on the list with their purchased Bitcoin, they are the only country (besides Central African Republic) to make Bitcoin legal tender, meaning that you can officially use it to pay for coffee, meals, and other expenses.
El Salvador hasn't stopped accumulating, by the way. In November 2022, President Bukele announced the country would be purchasing an additional 1 Bitcoin every day.
Nations Asserting Independence
With all that said, why would a country want to hold Bitcoin?
Consider that nations are often indebted to international financial institutions like the IMF and the World Bank, which brings into question a country's true autonomy.
Owning Bitcoin allows a sovereign country (like El Salvador) to assert its independence from these external institutions, which seek to influence and control them.
It's also important to realize that cryptocurrency not only empowers autonomous nations to assert their sovereignty, but small communities and individuals as well.
In fact, since we no longer have to trust centralized parties, cryptocurrencies are likely going to completely change the way we govern ourselves in the future.
Corporate Adoption
It's not only countries that have been accumulating Bitcoin. Traditional corporations have been hopping on the band wagon as well.
Microstrategy, Tether, and a Japanese investment firm called Metaplanet have all added Bitcoin to their corporate treasuries.
Institutional Adoption
With the SEC's approval of spot Bitcoin ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) applications earlier this year, some major financial institutions like Blackrock and Fidelity have also been accumulating hundreds of thousands of Bitcoin.
Keep in mind that while institutional adoption of Bitcoin may be good news for its price, it contradicts Bitcoin's original premise of self-custody without financial intermediaries.
Until next time...
Bhutan is just the latest example of the trend towards nation-state Bitcoin adoption. As more small nations, corporations, and individuals seek to assert their sovereignty, we will see the overall trend towards crypto adoption accelerate.
If you learned something new from this article, be sure to check out my other posts on crypto and finance here on the HIVE blockchain. You can also follow me on InLeo for more frequent updates.
Resources
Image Generation Courtesy of Venice AI [1]
Bitcoin to $USD Conversions [2]