Bhutan Hands 3iQ the Keys to Its Bitcoin Kingdom 🏔️

Toronto-based 3iQ Corp. has been named the first institutional manager of a dedicated portion of Gelephu Mindfulness City's Bitcoin treasury, formalizing a state-level BTC accumulation strategy into a discretionary mandate. The announcement, dated July 30, 2026, marks the first concrete deployment step since Bhutan said in December 2025 that up to 10,000 Bitcoin from its national holdings would be allocated to support GMC's long-term development. 3iQ disclosed the award through a public post on X and a separate partnership agreement tied to GMC's stated Digital Asset Ambition.

The mandate grants 3iQ discretionary management authority over a defined portion of GMC's $BTC reserves, though the press release does not disclose the specific amount of Bitcoin, the custody arrangement, permitted strategies, or the fee structure. Operational details typically associated with an institutional mandate of this scale were not provided in the announcement.

Beyond asset management, 3iQ committed to investing in local talent development, knowledge transfer, and establishing a permanent office in Gelephu. The firm is positioned as a founding institutional partner in GMC's stated goal of becoming "Bhutan's new digital offshore financial hub." 3iQ CEO Pascal St-Jean said the firm would put the capital to work "responsibly, transparently and for the long term."

Jigdrel Singay, a board director at GMC, described 3iQ as one of the city's founding institutional partners and specifically cited the firm's commitment to building local capabilities as a factor in the selection. The mandate adds a named external manager to a sovereign-linked reserve strategy that had previously been operated without public institutional oversight.