Welcome to the year 2025 — the very moment in history when the tiny kingdom of Bhutan, known more for its mountains, monks, and level of ‘national happiness’ than for technology, officially outperformed the rest of the world. How? They simply implemented the world's first national tourist cryptocurrency payment system.
“One wallet, one journey” — and zero banks
May 7, 2025, became a historic day. While developed countries drown in blockchain regulatory committees and tremble at any mention of crypto, Bhutan — a country with a population smaller than Tallinn — signed a strategic partnership with Binance Pay and DK Bank to make crypto the official payment method for everything for tourists: visas, hotels, excursions, souvenirs, even tea at the monastery.
And all this with a simple slogan: “One wallet — one journey”. Purely Bhutanese — calm, without pomp, but with a quiet intention to change the game.
Numbers:
• 100+ merchants across the country, including the most remote areas. (Yes, even llamas now accept stablecoins.)
• Support for BNB, BTC, ETH, and popular stablecoins — which account for almost 70% of the global volume of daily crypto payments.
• From zero to fully integrated in less than a year.
• 0% commission. Because why be like Visa when you can be smarter?
And now the question: if Bhutan could do it — what’s the excuse for the rest of the world?
Binance Pay — the cryptocurrency Uber for tourism
While the SEC and other regulators ponder whether to allow Binance to operate in their territories, in Bhutan, Binance Pay is operating at full throttle. The idea is simple: instant, contactless, and zero-fee payments, integration with mobile wallets, and — importantly — support for the real economy, not just virtual pictures of monkeys.
“Digital happiness” in Bhutanese
DK Bank (controlled by Druk Holding & Investments) explained it simply: “We don’t need to catch up with anyone. We just leaped over the entire old world.” A low blow? Perhaps. But accurate.
The project is part of a larger strategy to build a self-sufficient economy, where blockchain is not a subject of ICO scams, but a tool for financial growth and fairness.
The world watches, but does not see
And now let’s ask ourselves: why could a country without an army, with a population smaller than half of New York, do what the G20 cannot?
Because there are no JPMorgan in Bhutan, no senators on the payroll of Mastercard, and no 300-page directives from the IMF about how to “do no harm to the banking system”.
They just did it.
Conclusion:
Bhutan, with its smiling monks and valleys of happiness, has suddenly become the new Singapore of crypto-tourism. And while other countries debate CBDC and hold hearings in Congress, tourists in Paro are quietly paying for a jade souvenir with Ethereum.
Do you still believe that small countries don’t change the world? Ask Bhutan. Or better yet — fly there. Just don’t forget to charge your crypto wallet.
