Did Bhutan just sell 935 bitcoins from its Bitdeer mining partnership?

Earlier today, Bitdeer’s mining partnership in Bhutan deposited 935 bitcoins worth around $66 million into an account on Binance. Reactions indicated that some people interpreted the move as preparations to sell the coins.

According to Arkham Intelligence, the coins were moved in two separate transactions of $59.2 million and $7.3 million on Tuesday morning shortly after the world’s leading cryptocurrency crept above the $70,000 threshold.

Since 2019, Jihan Wu’s mining giant Bitdeer and its partnership with Druk Holding & Investments, a sovereign wealth manager for Bhutan, has been steadily growing its bitcoin mining operations. The partners have, according to Arkham Intelligence, amassed a trove of 12,456 bitcoins worth somewhere in the region of $890 million.

For context, boldly pro-bitcoin El Salvador has amassed fewer than 6,000 bitcoins as of last month.

Bitdeer has quietly made bitcoin an increasingly important role in Bhutan’s economy since Druk first started acquiring the currency via its partnership. Although Bitdeer provided considerable financing for the project, initial cost basis estimates on Arkham display near $5,000 per coin.

Read more: Bitcoin lobbying group warns UK not to sell its 61,000 bitcoins

The country allegedly made the move into bitcoin mining in the face of falling tourism revenues — caused largely by the COVID-19 pandemic. More importantly, Bitdeer realized that the poor country’s abundant hydroelectric resources would power significant mining operations while maintaining its veneer of environmental sustainability.

Indeed, Bitdeer has become such a significant part of Bhutan’s economy that, according to local outlet The Bhutanese, the country used bitcoin to fund a 50% salary increase for certain government officials.

As reported by Forbes, the country took the $72 million decision during an economic crisis that saw the its foreign currency reserves fall to just $689 million — only just enough to cover 14 months of imports.

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