Bhutan sudden purchase of Bitcoin

[bigmanik]

A little bit of a correction. It isn't sudden. Neither is it a purchase. Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin for half a decade now. Using hydropower, the small and happy country has been sustainably mining Bitcoin since 2019, back when the price per coin was still $5,000.

Yes, it's the 4th largest government holder of Bitcoin but it's unique in that its coins are earned organically, fresh, unlike the others whose coins are either seized from certain wallets or bought.   

Wait, does that mean that some of the coins owned by some countries are seized assets? I actually had no idea about that
I actually thought they were all purchased by the government for future purposes or something like that
Well, I guess I've learnt something new today

[Darker45]

A little bit of a correction. It isn't sudden. Neither is it a purchase. Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin for half a decade now. Using hydropower, the small and happy country has been sustainably mining Bitcoin since 2019, back when the price per coin was still $5,000.

Yes, it's the 4th largest government holder of Bitcoin but it's unique in that its coins are earned organically, fresh, unlike the others whose coins are either seized from certain wallets or bought.   

Wait, does that mean that some of the coins owned by some countries are seized assets? I actually had no idea about that
I actually thought they were all purchased by the government for future purposes or something like that
Well, I guess I've learnt something new today

The US had the most Bitcoin, hundreds of thousands, billions in USD, but it never invested in it. They seized billions worth of coins from Silk Road alone. China has billions in Bitcoin also, but it also didn't invest in it. They aren't even friendly with Bitcoin. Their coins are also confiscated from criminal activities. The same goes with Germany and the UK. They also had billions worth of Bitcoin, with Germany's coming mostly from piracy site Movie2k. Some of these countries' coins have already been sold or auctioned though.

[HelliumZ]

Taking such far-reaching measures on Bitcoin in a small country like Bhutan encourages other non-friendly countries to take various positive steps on Bitcoin. From the information available from various sources so far, it is basically known that Bhutan has more than $820 million worth of bitcoins till now. However, information is available from various social media or magazines that it has been stockpiled from mining projects. However, some believe that the Bhutanese government's holdings of such bitcoins are said to have been seized during illegal smuggling.

[Z-tight]

Wait, does that mean that some of the coins owned by some countries are seized assets? I actually had no idea about that
I actually thought they were all purchased by the government for future purposes or something like that
Well, I guess I've learnt something new today

Take note that BTC is decentralized, so you will find it hard to see a government that wants to purchase BTC, almost all of the countries that hold BTC confiscated it from criminals, illicit dealers and seized services, they didn't invest in BTC. That is why they auction it off or sell it when they choose, they really do not have any desire or interest to store BTC.

[m2017]

recently i was going through twitter(X) and i came about a news report stating that Bhutan, which is a small country in Asia, just officially became part of the crypto currency world after buying $780 million dollars worth of Bitcoin

Where did this small country get an extra $780 million? Bhutan doesn't want to disclose the origin of these funds?

and then advances to become the 4 largest government holder of Bitcoin just after UK

If I were in other countries, I would immediately ask myself: it seems that Bhutan knows something that we don’t.

this is actually very surprising especially considering the fact that Germany sold almost all of its Bitcoin few months back

And having learned about the news with Bhutan, Germany probably already regrets the sale.

What amazes me the most is that rather than buying Bitcoin directly, they invested more in mining Bitcoin

Perhaps, in the long run, this will turn out to be more profitable, because mining is a means of production, and bitcoin is a product or commodity. Instead of speculating on price, can create (mining).

I think this is a big win to the Bitcoin community

Maybe you meant to say for Bhutan?

But my question is, why did they decide to make this decision

Direct this question to them. No one but them can give a clear answer (if they want to share info).

And why did Germany sell its Bitcoin? Do they want to focus on just automobiles, which they are well known for

I can assume that the need for money and lack of faith in the future value of this asset. And also, Germany may know something that we don't know: the future of bitcoin is predetermined and it will be banned (but I think it's just a horror story ).

P.S. Do newbies have the privilege of not using punctuation?

[Z-tight]

Bhutan has been mining Bitcoin since 2019, but that doesn't mean they're ahead in the race. Other countries and companies are also investing in Bitcoin with different acquisition strategies. The fact that Bhutan has "organic" Bitcoins doesn’t really set them apart from others, as many actors in the market also use sustainable methods. Focusing solely on Bhutan's model without considering the diversity of approaches from other countries is a bit reductive.

Either buying or mining BTC is fine, but it is great and unique that a country is mining their own BTC, and they have been doing so for a long time now. Take note that most countries neither buys nor mine their coins, they acquire it through confiscation and forfeiture, we can all agree that it is unique for a country to get theirs through mining than confiscation.

[CryptSafe]

This is very interesting that a small country like this could see the future in bitcoin and start taking advantage of the opportunity they have which is the abundant electricity supply to partnership in mining bitcoin. They could be of big benefit from their mining in time to come as bitcoin is gradually gaining traction and adoption. While the big nations are busy selling theirs, the other smaller nations are busy looking for all available means to accumulate more of the bitcoin because they already see the future and were it is heading towards so they are just stashing up their vaults with bitcoin  and waiting for the right time when bitcoin would get to its peak in the world then they begin celebrating their profit and when they were busy investing their time and resources in bitcoin while other big nations were busy selling their for auction and lots more fighting against bitcoin.

[pawanjain]

recently i was going through twitter(X) and i came about a news report stating that Bhutan, which is a small country in Asia, just officially became part of the crypto currency world after buying $780 million dollars worth of Bitcoin and then advances to become the 4 largest government holder of Bitcoin just after UK this is actually very surprising especially considering the fact that Germany sold almost all of its Bitcoin few months back
What amazes me the most is that rather than buying Bitcoin directly, they invested more in mining Bitcoin
I think this is a big win to the Bitcoin community
But my question is, why did they decide to make this decision
And why did Germany sell its Bitcoin? Do they want to focus on just automobiles, which they are well known for
I would love to hear your thoughts on this

https://x.com/BitcoinNewsCom/status/1848038973547114890?t=ZNE4z2tvJ851VpUGXz5WoA&s=19

If you have been following Bhutan crypto news regularly then you would know that they have been mining crypto for a long time now.
They have accumulated a good amount of bitcoins which contributes to a significant portion towards their GDP.
It surely is a great news for the bitcoin community and it's something that the other countries should follow too.
It is comparatively a small country yet very progressive and efficient with technology.

[Z-tight]

Saying that a country mining its own Bitcoins is unique may seem true, but it’s not the only viable approach. For example, El Salvador has chosen to buy Bitcoins to diversify its reserves and stimulate its local economy. This is a strategic choice that shows purchasing can be just as relevant, if not more effective, than mining.

I don't know if you understood what i said, i never said mining is the only viable option, i called it unique because it is unusual to see a country mining their own BTC, it shows they are friendly to BTC and most countries are unfriendly to BTC.

Similarly, the Central African Republic has legalized Bitcoin and also opted for purchasing, which demonstrates that there are multiple ways to engage in the Bitcoin ecosystem. Mining requires significant resources, including energy and infrastructure, which may not be realistic for all countries.

BTC is no longer a legal tender in Central African Republic, it was legalized by their government, but they have long rescinded that decision and neither are they purchasing BTC, they have bigger problems in their country right now.