Bhutan's $13 Million Bitcoin Transfer Fuels Sell-Off Speculation

The Royal Government of Bhutan, through its sovereign wealth arm Druk Holdings and Investments (DHI), transferred approximately 121.89 Bitcoin (BTC) valued at around $13 million to a new wallet address on October 20, 2025, according to data from Arkham Intelligence. This move has reignited market concerns about potential sell-offs, as similar high-value transfers in August ($59 million) and September ($109 million) were later traced to exchange-linked addresses, including Cobo and Binance, often preceding sales.

Bhutan currently holds 6,262 BTC worth about $700 million, making it the fifth-largest sovereign Bitcoin holder globally, trailing only the United States, China, the United Kingdom, and Ukraine. The country's portfolio also includes smaller allocations in Ethereum (ETH), LNQ, and PHIL tokens, and it has grown by over 2.5% this week alone. The latest transfer features a different wallet structure, signaling a possible reshuffle in treasury operations rather than an immediate sale.

Amid this activity, Binance founder Changpeng 'CZ' Zhao added to the discourse with a bold prediction on X (formerly Twitter), stating, 'Bitcoin will flip gold. I don’t know exactly when. Might take some time, but it will happen.' At the time of his post, Bitcoin's market capitalization stood at $2.21 trillion, ranking eighth globally, while gold's market cap remains dominant at $29.67 trillion. Data from Newhedge shows a weakening correlation between Bitcoin and gold over the past year, with gold hitting new highs above $4,200 per ounce as Bitcoin retreated from its $125,000 peak to around $111,000.