Bitcoin Drops as Bhutan Moves 100 BTC ($6.77 million) to Institutional Wallet

Bitcoin transaction made by the Royal Government of Bhutan on February 12, 2026: The transaction involved the transfer of 100 BTC ($6.77 million) to an institutional deposit address. This transaction is made at a time when Bitcoin is experiencing market pressure. Investors are closely observing sovereign wallets for possible liquidity.

The blockchain transaction connects the destination wallet with an account linked to market maker QCP Capital. The transaction may not necessarily indicate an immediate sale, but analysts have noted that such transactions are often seen before a portfolio or liquidity adjustment, especially during periods of mining stress and poor price action.

The crypto assets of Bhutan amount to $381.56 million, with almost the entire investment in Bitcoin. Ethereum has a small investment of approximately $49,560. Bhutan has accumulated most of its Bitcoins through state-sponsored mining, unlike other countries that confiscate them for Bitcoins.

Bitcoin Drop Strains Bhutan Mining

Bhutan started its crypto mining initiative in 2019, using hydroelectric power to run its operations. The country has been able to reduce its footprint on the environment due to the use of hydroelectric power. The value of BTC has been declining, putting increasing pressure on the global market due to the increasing cost of production compared to spot prices.

The average cost of mining one BTC is estimated at $87,000 by Checkonchain, while the difficulty regression model has the figure at $79,253. When the price is below the production cost, the mining margin is squeezed, leading to reduced operations or liquidation of reserves to meet the expenses.

This strain has led to the shutdown of a number of highly advanced mining systems, such as the Antminer S21. In the sector, miners are selling their cryptocurrency to pay for energy costs and debt. Bhutan’s latest transfer may be a case of managing the treasury in the wake of profitability challenges.

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Institutions Push Bitcoin Below $70,000

On-chain data from Arkham Intelligence shows that a similar transaction of 100 BTC was done by Bhutan two weeks ago, sending the same QCP-linked address the same amount of cryptocurrency. The government has also transferred $1.5 million in Tether to a Binance hot wallet, indicating portfolio adjustments are ongoing.

Selling pressure increased. According to SosoValue data, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded an outflow of around $276.3 million in funds on February 11, 2026. Despite the withdrawals, the funds hold around 6.35% of the circulating value of the asset in the form of $5.76 billion worth of BTC.

At the time of writing, BTC is trading at $66,388, having fallen to $60,074 last week. BTC has been trading over 30% below the high point of the year, $97,860, and over 23% below the start of the year, with the price sitting well below the all-time high of $126,198, reached in October of last year.

Source: CoinMarketCap

According to 10X Research, which is a research firm, Bitcoin’s downside might persist in the near term as market positioning hasn’t yet backed a sustained recovery. In this context, Bhutan’s recent BTC transfer implies even those holding support from their governments are adapting their strategies due to this prolonged weakness.

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