The reclusive Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan is among the few nation-states in the world that has incorporated blockchain and cryptocurrency into a core national development strategy. Surprisingly and quietly, the country has become the fifth largest government holder of Bitcoin in the world – and has done so in a novel way by mining Bitcointhrough hydropower, capitalizing on their vast water resources.
Bhutan is also one of the few countries in the world with a partnership with Binance – the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange – enabling a national crypto payment system for visitors.
And now the conservative yet crypto progressive country has taken another leap by launching its own gold-pegged cryptocurrency. The TER token will be issued on the Solana blockchain by Gelephu Mindfulness City, a designated Special Administrative Region in Bhutan. “The sovereign-backed token is designed to act as a new bridge between traditional value stores and blockchain-based finance, with each token representing physical gold held in custody,” media reported.
Transforming finance on the blockchain
Solana, a high performance blockchain known for its speed, scalability and reliability is rapidly onboarding traditional finance products in a quiet yet major shift that is transforming finance. In addition to Bhutan, a major bank in Singapore has also said it will implement financial services such as stablecoin payments and on-chain asset issuance on Solana, “accelerating the entry of traditional finance”.
The CEO of Bhutan’s DP Bank said they chose Solana for their gold-pegged token is due to “the reliability and processing speed needed to operate public assets safely on-chain”.
“We will expand partnerships with global web3 companies and bank partners using Bhutan’s resources, policies, and financial institutions. Starting with the first sovereign gold token, we will actively build a national-level digital asset ecosystem.”
In a country that uniquely measures national progress by GNH (Gross National Happiness), Bhutan is choosing another unique approach to development based on the blockchain.