Bhutan bets on Bitcoin: Doubling salaries to combat brain drain

• Bhutan sold $100M BTC to double public workers’ salaries and reduce brain drain. 
• The nation’s BTC holding eased from 13K to 8K in the past year. 

According to an Al Jazeera report, the Bhutan Kingdom’s bet on Bitcoin [BTC] has been crucial in solving the island’s economic problems.

In particular, the world’s largest cryptocurrency has helped double civil servant salaries and reduce brain drain (mass exodus of skilled Bhutan workers).

Bitcoin use cases

The report stated that 10% of Bhutan’s 800,000 population left the island in 2022 for better wages in developed countries, and the trend extended into 2024. 

But BTC solved this crisis. In a separate interview in March, Bhutan’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay stated, 

‘We’ve used Bitcoin to provide free healthcare and for the environment. But these are minor; the main use of BTC has been to finance the salaries of public workers.”

The report added that the island sold $100M of BTC in 2023 to increase salaries. Bhutan has massive hydroelectric power, and the excess electricity is either sold to India or dedicated to BTC mining. Mining involves running supercomputers to find BTC blocks and gain rewards. 

According to blockchain intelligence provider Arkham, Bhutan currently has 8.19K BTC, worth about $700M per current value.

In 2024, the island’s BTC holding peaked at 13K, suggesting 5K has been offloaded in the past few months. 

That said, Bhutan isn’t alone in the BTC endeavor. El Salvador uses a similar strategy and mines BTC using its vast volcanic power resources (geothermal).

However, most of its current stash has been directly acquired from the markets. It remains to be seen how it will leverage its holdings to solve the country’s problems. 

Countries, including the U.S., El Salvador, Bhutan, and others, collectively control 529K BTC per Bitcoin Treasury’s data. Continued nation-state adoption could fuel BTC demand and prop up value in the long run.