In a stunning turn of events, Monday’s meteoric Bitcoin rally has propelled the crypto holdings of two unlikely nations to stratospheric heights. The small Central American country of El Salvador, led by its bullish president Nayib Bukele, now boasts a Bitcoin reserve worth over half a billion dollars. But the real surprise lies halfway across the globe in the tiny Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, whose own Bitcoin stash has surpassed a staggering $1 billion in value.
Bhutan’s Colossal Bitcoin Bet
According to data from blockchain analytics firm Arkham Intelligence, Bhutan holds a whopping 12,574 Bitcoins, worth approximately $1.1 billion at current prices. To put that in perspective, the value of Bhutan’s Bitcoin reserve now amounts to more than one-third of the nation’s entire GDP. It’s a breathtaking figure for a country with a population of merely 800,000.
Insiders suggest that Bhutan has been quietly accumulating its massive Bitcoin stockpile through mining, capitalizing on the country’s abundant hydroelectric power resources. The mountainous nation, known for prioritizing “Gross National Happiness” over economic growth, appears to have found a way to merge its environmental ethos with the digital gold rush.
El Salvador’s Half-Billion Dollar Bitcoin Haul
Not to be outdone, El Salvador’s own Bitcoin bet is paying off handsomely. The country’s reserve of nearly 6,000 BTC is now valued at a cool $516 million. While impressive, it represents a more modest 1.5% of El Salvador’s GDP, compared to Bhutan’s staggering 33%.
President Nayib Bukele, who spearheaded El Salvador’s adoption of Bitcoin as legal tender in 2021, has been “buying the dip” on several occasions. His strategy appears to be bearing fruit, with the country having declared its Bitcoin holdings “in the green” as of December 2023.
“El Salvador’s fiscal situation continues to improve, with its dollar-denominated debt yields dropping to 4.7% on the heels of Donald Trump’s election victory last week,”
according to a source familiar with the matter.
A Tale of Two Bitcoin Nations
The contrasting approaches of Bhutan and El Salvador highlight the diverse range of motivations driving national Bitcoin adoption:
- Bhutan appears to be leveraging its hydroelectric riches to mine Bitcoin as a store of value and potential revenue source
- El Salvador has embraced Bitcoin as legal tender, aiming to boost financial inclusion and attract crypto-savvy businesses
As the global cryptocurrency market continues to mature, the strategies employed by these pioneering nations will serve as case studies for others considering taking the plunge into the world of digital assets.
The Road Ahead
Monday’s price action has undoubtedly put a spring in the step of Bitcoin bulls, with the king of cryptocurrencies reclaiming the $80,000 level for the first time in nearly 18 months. As El Salvador and Bhutan’s Bitcoin bets pay off, the question on everyone’s lips is: which nation will be next to take the orange pill?
With the Bitcoin halving event just months away and institutional adoption continuing to gather pace, the stage appears set for further upside. For now, though, all eyes are on the unlikely poster children of national Bitcoin adoption: a Latin American nation with volcanic energy to spare, and a secluded Himalayan kingdom with hydropower to burn.
