Blockchain analytics company Nansen will establish a local entity and build a Bhutan-based team in Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), expanding into the kingdom as its Special Administrative Region advances its digital asset strategy.
According to a joint announcement shared with Cointelegraph, Nansen plans to incorporate within GMC and develop on-the-ground analytics capabilities to provide blockchain data and market intelligence to industry participants operating in the region.
GMC is a purpose-built Special Administrative Region in southern Bhutan focused on long-term economic development. The region has previously announced digital asset initiatives spanning custody infrastructure, tokenization, institutional liquidity and regulatory frameworks.
The move does not replace Nansen’s existing operations in Singapore, CEO Alex Svanevik told Cointelegraph, but adds an additional entity within GMC, saying that the company “chose GMC because of the vision behind it.”
Svanevik added that Bhutan stood out because digital assets are being integrated into the region’s economic framework from the outset. He said:
Most crypto-friendly jurisdictions are optimizing for what exists today. Bhutan is building something fundamentally different — a values-driven economic zone with digital assets baked into the foundation, not bolted on as an afterthought. GMC has crypto in its strategic reserves, a progressive regulatory framework, and genuine sovereign conviction behind it. That’s rare. We want to be pioneers in that ecosystem.
Nansen plans to hire locally as part of the expansion. While the company did not disclose specific staffing targets, Svanevik said the intention is to build a “meaningful local team,” with details on roles and office setup expected in the coming months.
Nansen describes itself as an AI-native onchain analytics platform tracking more than 500 million labeled blockchain addresses and providing real-time data tools across major blockchain networks.
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Bhutan positions Gelephu Mindfulness City at the center of its digital asset strategy
Announced in 2023, Gelephu Mindfulness City is a special administrative region designed as a new economic hub to create high-value local jobs and attract businesses across sectors including finance, green energy, technology, healthcare and agriculture, while offering regulatory flexibility for crypto and fintech companies.
In December, the government said it would allocate up to 10,000 Bitcoin (BTC) from its national holdings to support the city’s development. Officials said they were evaluating treasury and risk-managed yield strategies for the Bitcoin holdings, alongside long-term plans aimed at preserving value while supporting stable and sustainable growth.
Nansen is not the first digital asset company to enter the region. Also in December, Crypto market maker Cumberland DRW signed a multi-year memorandum of understanding to help develop digital asset infrastructure in GMC, including financial frameworks, sustainable mining and AI compute, yield strategies and stablecoin infrastructure.
Bhutan holds the world’s fifth-largest national Bitcoin reserve, with Bitbo estimating its holdings at 11,286 BTC, as of Nov. 18.
The country’s crypto strategy is spearheaded by Druk Holding and Investments (DHI), the commercial arm of the royal government.
In an April 2025 interview with Reuters, DHI CEO Ujjwal Deep Dahal said the fund began accumulating cryptocurrencies in 2019 to convert surplus hydropower into foreign-currency liquidity, and senior officials in the capital of Thimphu have said some profits have helped support government salary payments over the past two years.
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