Bhutan’s big decision, tourists will be able to pay in crypto
The crypto segment has grown rapidly in the last few years. Some countries are also accepting payments in cryptocurrencies. Bhutan has also been included in the list of these countries. Bhutan has announced the launch of a crypto payment system. For this, a tie-up has been done with Binance, one of the major crypto exchanges.
The purpose of this decision of Bhutan is to save tourists from complications like currency exchange rates and low availability of international cards and to provide an easy means of payments. Tourism has a large share in Bhutan’s economy. Tourists visiting this neighboring country of India will be able to make payments in crypto for flight tickets, hotels, sightseeing and shopping. For this, Bhutan’s first fully digital bank – DK Bank and Binance have tied up. To use this facility, tourists will have to sign in to Binance’s app.
Under this system, conversion from crypto to normal currency will be provided by DK Bank. It will accept payments in more than 100 cryptocurrencies, including the most valued cryptocurrency Bitcoin. In the last few years, the Bhutan government has held a large number of Bitcoin and Ethereum. The largest holder of Bitcoin is the US. According to a media report last year, the US has more than 2,13,240 bitcoins. It is followed by China with about 1,90,000 bitcoins. Britain (about 61,000 bitcoins) is third in this list. Last year, Bhutan was ranked fourth among the countries holding Bitcoin reserves. However, El Salvador, the first country to recognize this most expensive cryptocurrency, has a very low number of bitcoins.
However, the bitcoins held by Bhutan are not linked to the cryptocurrencies seized by the authorities. Druk Holding, the investment unit of the Bhutan government, has acquired this cryptocurrency through mining bitcoin. Bhutan has increased bitcoin mining efforts at four sites using electricity from hydroelectric plants. Bitdeer Technologies, a cryptocurrency mining services firm in Bhutan, also set up a mining data center.
