Bhutan anchors its digital ID system on Ethereum

The Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan is migrating the IDs of its nearly 800,000 residents to Ethereum.

Bhutan has completed the integration of its National Digital Identity (NDI) system with Ethereum, a blockchain platform. Residents use the system to verify their identities and access government services.

The migration of all citizen credentials will be finalized by the beginning of next year, according to Ethereum Foundation President Aya Miyaguchi.

“Today, Bhutan celebrates a historic milestone, becoming the first nation to anchor its national digital identity system on Ethereum,” Miyaguchi said in a social media post.

“This milestone marks not only a national achievement but a global step toward a more open and secure digital future for the long term,” she said.

1/ Today, Bhutan celebrates a historic milestone, becoming the first nation to anchor its national digital identity system on Ethereum. 🇧🇹@VitalikButerin and I were honored to join the launch ceremony on behalf of the Ethereum community, graced by His Royal Highness. pic.twitter.com/KA4tOYbsJ4

undefined Aya Miyaguchi (@AyaMiyagotchi) October 13, 2025

Miyaguchi joined Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin and Bhutan’s 9-year-old Crown Prince Jigme Namgyel Wangchuk at the launch ceremony. It was also attended by the country’s Prime Minister Tshering Tobgay and other government officials.

“Ethereum is one of the most decentralized blockchains in the world, making it virtually impervious to disruption,” Jigme Tenzing, the secretary of Bhutan’s Government Technology Agency, was quoted as saying by the country’s state media.

Tenzing added that “this transition cements both the security and stability of our digital identity.” Ethereum is the third blockchain platform the South Asian nation has used to store its citizens’ data.

Bhutan’s move comes with some security risks, including privacy concerns and the fact that the country will have limited control over the blockchain’s infrastructure.

“A public blockchain is not suitable for storing personal data in its raw form. The simple architecture can lead to leaks or disclosure,” Slava Demchuk, chief executive of AMLBot, a cybersecurity firm, said.

“If privacy protocols are built into the system from the outset, zero-knowledge proofs, selective disclosure, and multi-level access control, only then can transparency and privacy coexist,” he said.

Before switching to Ethereum, Bhutan relied on Polygon since August last year and on Hyperledger before that. It only opened up to foreigners in 1974 and continues to restrict tourist access to preserve its unique cultural identity and traditional way of life.

Despite its relative isolation, the tiny nation has embraced crypto to a point where it’s now the fifth-largest bitcoin-holding nation in the world, according to data from BitBo’s Bitcoin Treasuries.

With 11.286 bitcoin valued at $1.27 billion at the time of publishing, Bhutan is behind only the US, China, the UK, and Ukraine in its reserves.

Bhutan is pursuing a distinctive development path rooted in its Gross National Happiness concept, which prioritizes well-being, cultural preservation, good governance, and environmental conservation over traditional measures of economic growth.