Bhutan is accelerating its Bitcoin reserve liquidation, and recent trading activity looks quite aggressive. On Wednesday alone, they transferred out 519.7 BTC, equivalent to $36.75 million, which is considered routine in their history, but the pace of sales throughout March has clearly sped up.

Looking at on-chain data, Bhutan has shed nearly 70% of its holdings from the October 2022 high of 13,000 BTC, now holding only about 4,453 BTC, worth roughly $315 million. In January and February, transactions were small, ranging from $5 million to $15 million, but by March, the amounts doubled, with large orders between $35 million and $45 million. Interestingly, multiple transfers are directed to a Singapore-based trading firm, QCP Capital, suggesting this isn’t just casual liquidation but structured OTC trades.

The most heartbreaking part is that Bhutan previously pledged to use 10,000 BTC to support a mindfulness city project, but now they hold less than 4,500 BTC. At this rate, that promise is mathematically impossible to fulfill. Some say this is due to Bitcoin’s price dropping from around $119k to over $70k, combined with mining difficulty and halving pressures, making mining business unviable for small countries. Currently, Bitcoin is trading at $72.78k, and these BTC transactions are essentially direct cash flows for them.

In comparison, other major institutions and sovereign funds are accumulating Bitcoin and gold, while Bhutan is selling aggressively. The difference is quite significant. It seems that even at the national level, Bitcoin trading strategies face their own challenges.