Bhutan’s Gelephu Taps Canada’s 3iQ to Manage Part of Bitcoin Treasury

Bhutan’s special administrative region, Gelephu Mindfulness City, has hired Canadian digital-asset manager 3iQ to manage part of its Bitcoin treasury.

Cointelegraph reported on July 31 that Gelephu signed a partnership with 3iQ to oversee a portion of the Bitcoin earmarked to support the city’s development. The size of the mandate, the custody arrangement and whether yield strategies such as lending or derivatives will be permitted were not disclosed.

Bhutan said in December 2025 that it would allocate as many as 10,000 Bitcoin from the country’s holdings to fund Gelephu’s development. The agreement marks the next step in that plan.

3iQ Chief Executive Officer Pascal St-Jean said the firm would manage the assets responsibly and transparently with a long-term perspective. It will apply institutional-grade investment principles, he added.

Jigdril Singye, a board director at Gelephu, described 3iQ as one of the city’s founding institutional partners. The two sides said they plan to announce further milestones as Gelephu seeks to establish itself as a digital offshore financial hub focused on innovation, sustainability and institutional asset management.