[DigitalToday reporter Jinju Hong] Bhutan moved an additional 319 bitcoins (BTC) from government-linked wallets, extending a selling trend that has continued since late last year.

Cointelegraph reported on April 9 local time that the transfer was worth about $22.68 million, and cumulative outflows since late October last year have exceeded 9,000 BTC.

The wallet tracked by on-chain analytics firm Arkham is classified as being linked to the Royal Government of Bhutan and state investment firm Druk Holding and Investments. The wallet has moved bitcoins consecutively in recent months, and it was tallied as having moved more than 1,667 BTC in March alone.

Bhutan's bitcoin holdings fell to 3,654 BTC in April from about 13,000 BTC at the end of last year. That is a decline of about 70 percent. Bhutan still ranks fifth among publicly traceable sovereign holders, behind the United States, Britain, El Salvador and the United Arab Emirates.

The Bhutanese government has not issued a public statement on the latest movement of funds. What is currently known to the market is limited to assessments based on wallet labels linked to the government and Druk Holding and Investments, and transaction patterns.

A large portion of Bhutan's bitcoin holdings was built through state-led mining. Bhutan has operated data centres using hydropower, and authorities have presented this as part of an environmentally friendly bitcoin economy. They have also said it is a way to diversify export revenue sources beyond electricity sales.

Bhutan has in practice pursued a plan to run energy-intensive supercomputers using surplus carbon-free hydropower and convert the bitcoins mined in the process into liquid digital export goods. It has also reviewed whether large companies could buy Bhutan's environmentally friendly coins to meet environmental, social and governance goals.

This trend also links to a national-level bitcoin development plan disclosed in December last year. At the time, Bhutan announced a bitcoin development pledge to commit up to 10,000 BTC to support long-term development of the Gelephu Mindfulness City special administrative region. The amount was worth about $1 billion at the time.

Authorities presented using bitcoin as collateral, including it in low-risk yield products and holding it for the long term as ways to manage the allocation. They said it was part of a broader strategy to foster a new economic hub centred on digital assets and sustainable finance.

The market is not making a definitive judgment on whether the latest move was a simple wallet reshuffle or a step toward actual disposal. Still, with large-scale outflows continuing since late October last year, it is being taken as a sign that Bhutan is adjusting its strategy for managing state-held bitcoin. Key points to watch include whether there are additional wallet movements and how bitcoin is actually deployed in the Gelephu special administrative region development plan.