Bhutan launches gold-bound digital nomad visa, inviting first participants

Bhutan launches gold-bound digital nomad visa, inviting first participants
Bhutan targets crypto professionals with TER visa program

On Tuesday, Bhutan announced the launch of a digital nomad visa valid for one year, with the option to extend it for another year. The country, which holds one of the largest Bitcoin reserves, has already attracted attention from crypto companies. Some of them have announced plans to establish branches in Bhutan.

Nomads to boost gold reserves

To obtain the visa, applicants must deposit $10,000 in TER tokens into an account at DK Bank, Bhutan’s digital banking institution. After approval, digital nomads must also pay an annual visa fee of $2,800.

The TER digital token, issued on the Solana blockchain, was created by Bhutan’s special administrative zone, Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC), and is pegged to the value of 0.01 grams of pure gold.

A year ago, the GMC administration spoke about its plans to attract skilled developers and programmers to the country. The region has also announced digital asset initiatives covering custody infrastructure, tokenization, institutional liquidity, and regulatory frameworks.

First nomads respond

Crypto industry players have already reacted to the GMC initiative. The launch of the visa was welcomed by the non-profit organization Edge Institute, which organizes temporary developer settlements — bootcamps where specialists exchange experience and knowledge.

Blockchain analytics platform Nansen announced the opening of a local branch and the formation of a team in GMC.

According to the company, Nansen plans to register in the Mindfulness City and expand its on-the-ground analytics capabilities to provide blockchain data and market intelligence to industry participants operating in the region.

A small player in the battle for big minds

While the creation of special economic zones to develop priority industries is common practice worldwide, Bhutan stands out for choosing digital assets as a strategic focus. The once-isolated country has opted to build a crypto industry as part of its budget framework and is now entering global competition to attract top blockchain developers.

As we wrote, Bhutan partners with Cumberland DRW to expand digital asset infrastructure

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