Sovereign Bitcoin push
A wave of nation‑level moves on Bitcoin is accelerating: reports say Bhutan has started mining quietly, El Salvador holds 5,900+ BTC, and countries including Russia, Paraguay and Brazil are advancing legal or regulatory steps — framing a 'sovereign play' race for crypto reserves and payments options country roundup followup thread.
Bhutan’s sovereign miner is run through the state investment arm Druk Holding & Investments (DHI), which operates hydro‑powered mining sites to convert surplus electricity into [BTC cointelegraph.com]. Bhutan’s government wallets moved roughly $42.5 million of BTC and USDT so far in 2026, trimming the reported national stack to about 5,400 coins. [coindesk.com] The kingdom’s stash peaked near ~13,000 BTC in late 2024 (valued at roughly $1.4 billion at the time) after years of state‑led accumulation through [mining bravenewcoin.com]. Officials have tied the hydro‑to‑Bitcoin strategy to financing the Gelephu Mindfulness City development as a source of hard‑currency liquidity. [asianmorning.com] El Salvador’s on‑balance holdings have been reported significantly higher than earlier tallies after a contentious late‑2025 purchase of about 1,090 BTC (~$100 million), putting public dashboards near ~7,500 BTC in some [snapshots decrypt.co]. River’s earlier survey had listed the country at about 5,900 BTC, a figure often cited in comparative sovereign‑adoption tallies. [dig.watch] Security and accounting moves in San Salvador include splitting reserves across multiple addresses — reportedly 14 addresses — citing security and future‑proofing concerns such as quantum [threats blockonomi.com]. The IMF noted El Salvador committed, as part of loan discussions, not to increase the overall amount of BTC held across government wallets, a condition that has shaped reporting and purchase disclosures. [cointelegraph.com] Russia’s regulators have shifted from halting crypto to drafting a unified legal framework, with the Bank of Russia publishing rules that would legalize trading for individuals and firms and aim for adoption by mid‑2026. [coindesk.com] The government’s concept paper separates retail and qualified investors and flags new penalties for unregulated activity starting in 2027. [cryptonews.com] Paraguay’s tax authority (DNIT) issued General Resolution No. 47/26 requiring reporting of cryptocurrency transactions above $5,000, including disclosures of wallet addresses and transaction hashes for platforms and [users atlas21.com]. Local coverage says the move formally folds crypto into Paraguay’s tax and AML regime and imposes immediate compliance obligations on exchanges and administrators. [bitcoinmagazine.com] Brazil enacted a broad crypto regulatory framework with a formal implementation checkpoint of February 2, 2026 and a nine‑month grace period for firms to register and comply, extending banking‑style rules to exchanges and [custodians riotimesonline.com]. Analysts at Chainalysis describe the regime as converting regulatory uncertainty into a clear compliance pathway for market participants across custody, trading and AML controls. [chainalysis.com]
