Protocols & Policy · Sovereign policy
Bhutan's King has signed a Royal Decree giving the Gelephu Mindfulness City financial office central banking powers, and the new central bank will be empowered to invest in cryptocurrencies alongside conventional reserve assets, BBS reported.
A new central bank in Bhutan's Gelephu Mindfulness City will be empowered to invest in cryptocurrencies alongside conventional reserve assets, Bhutan Broadcasting Service reported on Nov. 2, writing crypto into a central bank's reserve mandate. Gelephu Mindfulness City is a special administrative zone in southern Bhutan with its own financial rules.
"His Majesty The King has signed a Royal Decree granting the Gelephu Financial Services Office comprehensive central banking powers, paving the way for its transition into the Gelephu Central Bank," BBS reported at 6:33 a.m. ET, citing a news release [1]. The zone's own site posted a release at 5:14 a.m. ET titled "His Majesty The King empowers Gelephu Central Bank, new milestone for GMC's financial future" [2].
According to BBS, the Gelephu Central Bank "will be an autonomous institution with a central banking mandate," responsible for "monetary policy, foreign reserve management and maintaining financial stability" [1]. Foreign reserve management means holding and investing the assets a central bank keeps in reserve.
The crypto clause sits inside that reserve role. "The central bank will be empowered to invest in digital assets and cryptocurrencies alongside conventional reserve assets," BBS reported [1]. BBS also said the decree creates "a pathway for GMC to introduce its own currency, including in digital form, subject to His Majesty's concurrence" [1].
The decree text, its effective date and the size of the bank's reserves have not been published. BBS describes the decree as "paving the way" for the transition, and reported that "more than 50 positions are being opened," including in "virtual asset supervision" and anti-money laundering [1].
Bhutan's national government already holds bitcoin, but public trackers disagree sharply on how much. BitcoinTreasuries.net listed ₿518 as of Sept. 15, 2026 [3], while Bitbo listed ₿11,286 and CoinGecko listed ₿10,769 when Le Coin checked at 1:19 p.m. ET on Nov. 3 [4][5]. None of the trackers attributes any of that bitcoin to the Gelephu bank.
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 2, 2026, 5:14 a.m. ET | Gelephu Mindfulness City posts release titled "His Majesty The King empowers Gelephu Central Bank" | [2] |
| Nov. 2, 2026, 6:33 a.m. ET | BBS reports Royal Decree granting the Gelephu Financial Services Office central banking powers | [1] |
| Mandate | Monetary policy, foreign reserve management, financial stability | [1] |
| Reserve assets | Empowered to invest in cryptocurrencies alongside conventional reserve assets | [1] |
| Staffing | More than 50 positions being opened | [1] |
| Decree text, effective date, reserve size | Not published | [1] |
| Bhutan government bitcoin (trackers disagree) | ₿518 per BitcoinTreasuries.net as of Sept. 15, 2026; ₿11,286 per Bitbo and ₿10,769 per CoinGecko, both checked Nov. 3, 2026, 1:19 p.m. ET. Not held by the Gelephu bank. | [3][4][5] |
Table: Le Coin. Sources: BBS, Nov. 2, 2026; Gelephu Mindfulness City, Nov. 2, 2026; BitcoinTreasuries.net as of Sept. 15, 2026; Bitbo and CoinGecko, Nov. 3, 2026.
A power to invest is not an investment. BBS reported what the bank may do, not what it holds, and without a reserve size there is no way to measure how much of the bank's balance sheet the crypto clause could ever touch. The bank is also still in transition from a financial services office, by BBS's account.
The clause that matters is "alongside conventional reserve assets." As BBS describes the decree, crypto sits inside the reserve mandate rather than apart in a separate fund, and BBS reported that the new positions include virtual asset supervision. The decree's text, when published, will show whether that wording carries limits BBS did not report.
Holding the Corner.
Not financial advice.