Bhutan GMC Plans On Creating Multi-Crypto Reserve

Bhutan’s GMC To Establish A Multi-Crypto Reserve Which Will Include BTC, ETH And Other Major Digital Assets

Updated: 08 January 2025

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A newly-created economic hub in Bhutan has expressed intentions to set up a strategic crypto reserve comprising prominent digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ethereum (ETH) and other major projects.

Bhutan’s Gelephu Special Administrative Region (SAR), also known as Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), revealed its plans for the crypto reserve in a Jan. 8 announcement. The utility token for leading crypto exchange Binance, Binance Coin (BNB), is also being considered as a feature in the reserve, the announcement added.

GMC Aims To Enhance Economic Resilience Through Multi-Crypto Reserve

Bhutan’s government already holds Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies through a commercial arm of the royal government called Druk Holding and Investments (DHI). Data from Arkham Intelligence shows that Bhutan holds 11,688 BTC as well as 656 ETH. Druk also has minor holdings of crypto on networks such as the BNB Chain, Base and Polygon.

#BNB is now a Strategic Reserve asset in Bhutan🇧🇹. https://t.co/GN3K8pLyaA

— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) January 8, 2025

By including crypto into the strategic reserve, GMC hopes to enhance the jurisdiction’s economic resilience while simultaneously offering new opportunities from its already-active Bitcoin mining initiative. The city’s administration intends on discussing its plans for the reserve with senior government officials and industry leaders from across the globe in March.

Unlike other jurisdictions that are exploring Bitcoin-only reserves, GMC wants its initiative to include digital assets “with large market capitalizations and deep liquidity,” and that can be “easily bought or sold” without affecting prices too much.

Additional requirements for cryptos to be added to GMC’s reserve include a presence on “more mature” and secure blockchain networks that also come with support for off-chain transaction monitoring.

GMC Project Will Take 21 Years To Complete

The proposal for the multi-crypto reserve follows an announcement made in November last year by Bhutan of a $100 million bond to build the GMC project, which the developers envision will serve as an economic corridor between South Asia to Southeast Asia.

GMC will also have legal independence and executive autonomy, and will be built in phases that are estimated to take 21 years to complete, according to officials.