Bhutan Special Administrative Region in Bitcoin, Ethereum Strategic Reserves

Bhutan’s newly designated special administrative region on Wednesday announced plans to officially accept digital assets, including Bitcoin, Ethereum and Binance’s BNB token, as part of its strategic reserves.

Called Gelephu Mindfulness City, the area is trying to create an urban environment based on “mindfulness, sustainability and innovation” in the southern plains of Bhutan. message on Wednesday.

The GMC initiative seeks to institutionalize the introduction of digital assets at the regional level. The move builds on Bhutan’s growing role in crypto, with the government already holding significant Bitcoin reserves.

Since 2019, Bhutan’s state investment arm, Druk Holding & Investments (DHI), has mined over 13,000 bitcoins valued at approx. 750 million dollars.

The reserves make Bhutan the world’s largest government holder of bitcoin, surpassing El Salvador, which will adopt Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021. 5,995 BTC.

This follows Fidelity Financial Services’ latest report predicts This year, more countries have come together to build strategic Bitcoin reserves to hedge against “debilitating inflation, currency depreciation and increasingly devastating fiscal deficits.”

According to the statement, SAR plans to prioritize assets with high market capitalization, deep liquidity and mature blockchain infrastructure to ensure stability and transparency.

SARs are a separate type of administrative division that typically have more autonomy than other regions within a country.

They are often created to take into account the region’s unique political, economic or cultural characteristics, while maintaining ties to the central government.

The initiative complements Bhutan’s broader strategy to position the city as a center for blockchain innovation in South Asia.

It also builds on the country’s enactment of the “Enforcement of Laws Act 2024,” which creates a regulatory framework for the maintenance of digital assets.

According to GMC officials, the SAR will hold a global summit in March to discuss the integration of digital assets into strategic reserves and establish an international advisory panel.

It comes as other jurisdictions explore similar strategies. US President-elect Donald Trump has proposed creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve to expand the government’s crypto holdings.

El Salvador and the Central African Republic have also taken steps to deepen Bitcoin integration into their national financial systems, leveraging crypto for economic growth and financial independence.