Bhutan’s Gelephu Mindfulness City Pioneers Adoption of Bitcoin and Other Digital Assets in City’s Strategic Reserves
Gelephu Mindfulness City, Bhutan – [January 8, 2025] Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), Bhutan’s new Special Administration Region, today announced its intention to recognise digital assets such as Bitcoin (BTC), Ether (ETH) and BNB as part of its strategic reserves, making the Special Administrative Region (SAR) one of the first jurisdictions to officially hold digital assets as part of its strategic reserves. The inclusion of digital assets in the GMC’s strategic reserves will enhance the SAR’s economic resilience, and is an evolution of the jurisdiction’s involvement in bitcoin mining.
For its strategic reserves, GMC intends to recognise digital assets that have large market capitalisations and deep liquidity to ensure that they can be easily bought and sold with minimal price impact. In addition, GMC will look to recognise digital assets that are issued on more mature, secure blockchains that support monitoring of on-chain transactions.
Located on the land bridge connecting the rapidly-growing economies of South Asia, GMC is uniquely positioned to serve the more than two billion people in the region, and one of its key economic focuses is on promoting and supporting the use of blockchain technology, in line with the SAR’s emphasis on innovation and pioneering of new technologies.
This announcement follows the enactment of GMC Law No. 1 of 2024, or the ‘Application of Laws Act 2024’, which was announced on 26 December 2024. The enacted set of laws for GMC included establishing the legal and regulatory framework in GMC for companies seeking to offer financial services involving digital assets. The enactment of this law, coupled with recognising digital assets such as BTC, ETH and BNB as part of GMC’s strategic reserves, is intended to bolster the growth of the digital asset ecosystem in GMC within a technologically progressive, yet well-regulated environment.
In March 2025, GMC plans to convene a high-level meeting in the Kingdom of Bhutan of senior government officials and industry leaders from across the world to discuss the recognition of digital assets as part of a jurisdiction’s strategic reserves, and the setting up of an international advisory panel on digital assets for GMC.
About Gelephu Mindfulness City
The Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region (GMC SAR) is a pioneering initiative creating an urban environment in the southern plains of Bhutan centred around mindfulness, sustainability and innovation. The SAR integrates traditional Bhutanese values, globally accepted legal frameworks, cutting-edge design and technology and harnesses the Kingdom’s abundant green power to serve as a global exemplar of holistic development. Please visit www.gmc.bt or contact us at info@gmc.bt for more information or contact invest@gmc.bt if you wish to incorporate a company in GMC.
