Bhutan moves $107M in BTC as Fed rate cuts awaken Whales
TL;DR Breakdown
- The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred about $107M worth of BTC, raising fears over sell pressure.
- According to reports, the transfers are indications that the government is preparing to sell a portion of its assets.
- Whales begin to make moves as the Fed delivers the first interest rate cut of 2025.
The Royal Government of Bhutan transferred about $107 million worth of Bitcoin this week, raising fears over a potential sell pressure in the market. The development comes just as the United States Federal Reserve delivered its first rate cut since the beginning of 2025.
According to reports, the Bhutan government-labelled wallet transferred 913 Bitcoin worth close to $107 million into new cryptocurrency wallets. Notably, the original wallet still contains more than 9,652 Bitcoin, which is presently worth over $1.1 billion, according to blockchain data platform Lookonchain. Several reports indicate that the transfers might be an indication that the country is preparing to sell a portion of its cache. If the government were to liquidate all its holdings, it would mean more than $1 billion worth of Bitcoin being moved into the market.
Bhutan moves huge BTC cache as Whales make moves
This is the first activity this month from the wallet, which previously moved $92 million in BTC on August 18. The transfer came during a period of market downturn, with the country moving 799.69 BTC into two new wallets. The transfer, like this one, was moved into new wallets, with reports at the time noting that they would be likely sent to a centralized exchange for sale.
Bhutan has embraced digital assets fully under its current monarch, King Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuk. The country has undertaken several initiatives, including the development of hydro-powered Bitcoin mining and a crypto reserve. The country confirmed to journalists from Forbes that it has been mining Bitcoin since 2019, when the price of the asset was around $5,000 a piece. At the time of the report, the price of Bitcoin was around $28,000, with the asset presently worth $117K per coin.
In addition, Bhutan announced the formation of its strategic cryptocurrency reserve in January. At the time, the country mentioned that the reserve will consist of two tokens, Bitcoin and Ethereum. In the announcement, the country mentioned plans to add BNB as part of its reserve, alongside the big two. According to Bhutan’s Gelephu Special Administrative Region (SAR), also known as Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), the strategic reserve is expected to offer other opportunities outside the involvement in Bitcoin mining.
Whales make moves amid interest rate cut announcement
In September 2024, Arkham revealed the first Bitcoin address of the country’s investment arm, Drunk Holding and Investments, which helped raise more than $780 million in crypto. The platform mentioned that the huge crypto cache showcased the benefits of cryptocurrency adoption for developing economies. Meanwhile, the Bhutan transfers came as other large holders started to move coins ahead of potential volatility in the crypto market.
On Wednesday, an unknown whale made a move after 12 years of dormancy, transferring $116 million worth of Bitcoin, which he acquired for $847 per token, with the whole stash worth around $847,000 at the time of the purchase. The transfer occurred shortly before the first United States rate cut of the year was delivered at the highly anticipated Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting on Wednesday.
While Bitcoin initially climbed to $117,000 when the interest rate cut announcement was made, Ryan Lee, chief analyst at Bitget exchange, mentioned that it will introduce short-term volatility risks. According to Lee, the “median FOMC projection of just 50 bps in total cuts this year tempers the optimism.” “Historically, crypto has dipped 5–8% percent following rate cuts before resuming its upward path, suggesting a potential ‘sell the news’ phase in the days ahead.”
