Binance Pay, a cryptocurrency payment service offered by the Bhutanese Government in partnership with DK Bank (local digital bank), is now available to travel companies.
The QR code will allow users to purchase airfare, hotel rooms, tours, and street food using Bitcoin, BNB and USDC, among 97 others.
DK Bank converts payments into local currency, ngultrum. Binance reports that more than 100 merchants in the local area have joined Binance’s system. Small businesses without card terminals can use the solution to simplify payments. A smartphone equipped with QR codes will do.
Binance claims that the integration of the cards will result in a reduction of currency conversion costs and the acceptance problem for international credit cards.
Bhutan, according to Bitcoin Treasuries has the fifth-largest bitcoin reserve in the world. Bhutan has 12 062 BTC in its account.
Mining is a major part of the kingdom’s efforts to increase its reserve. This is done by utilizing the state’s abundant hydropower resource.
In the first half of this year, Bhutan’s Special Administrative Region included BNB and bitcoin in its strategic reserve.
Bhutan Government has transferred 935 BTC from Binance
Arkham reports that on October 29, 2024, the Royal Government of Bhutan sent 935 BTC (about $66.4 million) into the Binance cryptocurrency exchange’s deposit account.
Transfer was done in two stages: initially 102.782 BTC and then, about one hour later, 832.249 BTC.
Before that, on July 1, Kraken had deposited 381 BTC valued at $24.1 million.
It is not known why the transaction occurred, but in past years, CEX deposits are usually followed by CEX sales.
The total crypto-assets in Bhutanese custody at the time this article was written exceeded $890 Million.
Druk Holding & Investments, a state-owned fund of investment management, manages the funds. Bhutan is ranked fifth by Bitcoin Treasuries in terms of countries that hold crypto assets.
The “dragon Kingdom” actively builds up its reserves by mining. The state utilizes hydroelectric power for this purpose.
Forbes has previously conducted an investigation and discovered that Bhutan’s government allots land, funds and energy to bitcoin mining.
Bitcoins held by DPRK hackers exceed those of El Salvador, Bhutan and Bhutan
Lazarus, a North Korean hacker collective that operates out of North Korea, currently holds 13,518 BTC (about $1.13 billion as of this writing), an amount greater than what the governments of Bhutan and El Salvador have in their wallets. Arkham Intelligence data confirms this.
Bhutan, on the other hand, has 12 062 BTC in its reserves. Mining is a major part of the kingdom’s efforts to increase its reserve. This is done by utilizing the abundant hydroelectric power resources available in the state.
Salvador currently has 6118 BTC. It regularly purchases coins and mines.
Analysts attribute Lazarus’ substantial bitcoin hoard, to the hacking of Bybit’s cryptocurrency exchange in late February for $1.4 billion. Hackers laundered the majority of stolen ether using DeFi protocol, THORChain.
The group also owns other crypto-currencies worth about $30,000,000, such as Ethereum, BNB and BUSD.
With 198.109 BTC, the US remains as the largest digital gold holder. The US is creating a Bitcoin reserve by using the cryptoassets that were seized during criminal and civil cases.
Arkham reports that the United Kingdom has 61,245 BTC.
Chainalysis estimates that North Korean hackers stole $1.34 billion in crypto assets by 2024. UN estimates about half the DPRK’s foreign exchange revenue comes from cyberattacks. The funds are used to fund programs that create ballistic missiles and weapons of mass destruction.
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