The small nation of Bhutan in South Asia is making a significant move by migrating its self-sovereign ID system to Ethereum from Polygon. This transition will enable the country’s nearly 800,000 residents to verify their identities and access government services.
The migration of all resident credentials to Ethereum is expected to be completed by the first quarter of 2026. Ethereum Foundation President Aya Miyaguchi, along with Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin, attended the launch ceremony with Bhutan’s prime minister, Tshering Tobgay, and crown prince, Jigme Namgyel Wangchuk.
Source: Aya Miyaguchi
“It’s deeply inspiring to see a nation commit to empowering its citizens with self-sovereign identity,” Miyaguchi stated. She added that the Ethereum integration was a world-first and marked a significant milestone towards a more open and secure digital future.
“This milestone marks not only a national achievement but a global step toward a more open and secure digital future for the long term.”
Integrating a blockchain-based solution into a government’s national ID system has been seen as a promising crypto use case due to its immutability, transparency, and privacy features.
Ethereum is Bhutan’s third blockchain national ID solution
Bhutan previously used Polygon and Hyperledger Indy for its national ID system before transitioning to Ethereum. Other countries, such as Brazil and Vietnam, have also partially integrated blockchain-based self-sovereign identity solutions.
Source: Timour Kosters
Miyaguchi praised Bhutan’s National Digital Identity and GovTech teams for their role in the Ethereum integration, as well as other contributors in the Bhutan crypto community.
Bhutan has been stacking Bitcoin
Bhutan, known for measuring national progress by Gross National Happiness, has quietly emerged as a leader in crypto adoption. It currently holds the fifth-largest Bitcoin reserves globally, acquired through mining with renewable energy sources.
With holdings of 11,286 Bitcoin worth $1.31 billion, Bhutan trails only the US, China, the UK, and Ukraine in Bitcoin reserves.
The country may also be exploring other crypto initiatives, as evidenced by a meeting with former Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao in late September.
Pay in #BNB using @Binance Pay in Bhutan🇧🇹, nice and easy. 😏 pic.twitter.com/B5p3YolJjJ
— CZ 🔶 BNB (@cz_binance) September 29, 2025
Magazine: EU’s privacy-killing Chat Control bill delayed — but fight isn’t over
