Canadian digital asset manager 3iQ will oversee a dedicated mandate of Gelephu Mindfulness City's bitcoin holdings under a partnership announced Wednesday, drawn from Bhutan's national allocation.
Gelephu Mindfulness City, a planned economic hub in Bhutan, has access to up to 10,000 bitcoin from Bhutan's national treasury following a December 2025 commitment. The specific size of 3iQ's management mandate was not disclosed in the announcement, though the partnership marks the first known delegation of the city's bitcoin holdings to a third-party manager.
3iQ is one of Canada's largest digital asset managers, operating the Grayscale Bitcoin Mini Trust and managing institutional capital across crypto and traditional markets. The firm has handled bitcoin positions for pension funds and corporate treasuries since 2018. The scope of 3iQ's role, whether as custodian, trader, or strategic advisor, was not specified.
Bhutan's December 2025 allocation to Gelephu Mindfulness City represented the country's first formal commitment of national bitcoin reserves to back a domestic project. Bhutan has held bitcoin since 2017 and has been a steady accumulator. The city itself is designed as a hub for digital innovation and mindfulness-focused enterprise, with bitcoin integration central to its economic model.
Gelephu Mindfulness City's management structure had previously operated without external asset managers for its treasury functions. The appointment of 3iQ moves the project toward professional institutional infrastructure as it scales operational requirements. No timeline for deployment of funds under 3iQ's mandate was provided.
Bhutan's total bitcoin holding remains undisclosed, though public blockchain data and regulatory filings have suggested the country controls between 13,000 and 15,000 bitcoin. If accurate, the 10,000 bitcoin reserved for Gelephu represents between 67 percent and 77 percent of the national holding. 3iQ's appointment to manage a portion of sovereign-backed bitcoin places the Canadian firm alongside U.S. and Swiss providers competing for institutional custody mandates.
The figure whether 3iQ manages 1,000 bitcoin or 5,000 will determine the scale of this precedent for delegated national reserves. The metric to watch is the size of the mandate 3iQ discloses in its next quarterly filing or annual report.
