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Transcript

Bhutan Launches World’s First Blockchain-Backed Digital Nomad Visa · IMI Podcasts

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: The Kingdom of Bhutan has opened applications for a digital nomad visa that requires applicants hold a government-issued gold-backed cryptocurrency token.
• 0:08
  SPEAKER_00: No other country ties residency directly to a sovereign digital asset.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_00: Administered by the Galefu Mindfulness City Authority, referred to as GMCA, the program requires that applicants deposit$10,000 worth of TER tokens through DK Bank, Bhutan's regulated digital bank.
• 0:29
  SPEAKER_00: Upon departure, the full deposit is returned.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: A separate non-refundable annual fee of$2,800 US dollars goes to the GMCA.
• 0:39
  SPEAKER_00: TER is a digital token issued on the Solana blockchain.
• 0:43
  SPEAKER_00: Each unit represents fractional ownership of 0.01 grams of physical gold with 999.9 purity stored in audited vaults.
• 0:53
  SPEAKER_00: Launched on December 17th, 2025, as what Bhutan describes as the world's first sovereign gold back token on Solana, TER had more than 7.8 million tokens in circulation at the time of the visa announcement.
• 1:07
  SPEAKER_00: Applicants must open a DK bank account before purchasing and depositing the tokens.
• 1:13
  SPEAKER_00: Once approved, visa holders can live and work remotely from anywhere in Bhutan, including within Galefu Mindfulness City, also known as GMC, a special administrative region near the Indian border designed around what officials describe as mindful economic development.
• 1:31
  SPEAKER_00: Valid for 12 months and renewable for up to 24 months, the visa sets no minimum income threshold or mandatory stay requirement.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: GMCA has partnered with Nomad Club to administer the program.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Eligible applicants include remote workers, entrepreneurs, and professionals aligned with the city's focus on sustainability and innovation.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Applications are live at digitalgmc.com.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: The new program aligns with Bhutan's growing blockchain ambitions.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: The country has been mining Bitcoin with surplus hydroelectric power since at least 2019 and holds an estimated 11,000 BTC.
• 2:09
  SPEAKER_00: In December 2025, King Jigme Kasar Numgyil Wongchuk pledged up to 10,000 BTC, then valued at approximately 860 million US dollars, to fund GMC's long-term development.
• 2:23
  SPEAKER_00: And the city now lists Bitcoin, Ether, and BNB among its strategic reserve assets.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Rafael Xintron, CEO of Wealthy Expat, a Dubai-based citizenship and residency advisory firm, called the program a potential catalyst for the broader investment migration market.
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: Speaking on his YouTube channel, Centron said the visa structure could set a template that other crypto-friendly governments adopt.
• 2:49
  SPEAKER_00: Quote, I absolutely love this program because it's going to encourage other countries around the world to launch the same thing.
• 3:00
  SPEAKER_00: He predicted that governments in the Philippines, Turkey, Panama, and El Salvador could follow Bhutan's model, adding that he would like to see El Salvador offer a long-term visa tied to a$500,000 deposit in cryptocurrency.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_00: Sintran said he would apply himself, though he has never visited the country.
• 3:22
  SPEAKER_00: In the lexicon of internationally mobile high net worth individuals, Bhutan qualifies as a Plan D Plan E destination, a contingency option layered behind more conventional second residence strategies.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_00: One operational concern applies to any program requiring that applicants deposit crypto in a custodial wallet.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: Quote, there is a phrase, not your keys, not your coins.
• 3:48
  SPEAKER_00: End quote, Centro noted, referencing the well-known principle that whoever holds the private keys controls the assets.
• 3:56
  SPEAKER_00: Quote, if somebody else controls your crypto, they can always take it away, he added.
• 4:02
  SPEAKER_00: Somebody can hack the system or the coin can go to zero like Terra Luna, end quote.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_00: The gold backing of TER tokens, however, offers a degree of insulation from the volatility that typically accompanies pure cryptocurrency holdings.
• 4:17
  SPEAKER_00: Adam Yuknievic, CEO of BitCitizen, was more measured.
• 4:22
  SPEAKER_00: Quote, this is the first time I've seen a country try residency as an on-chain collateral product, he observed.
• 4:30
  SPEAKER_00: That's genuinely intriguing, end quote.
• 4:33
  SPEAKER_00: His objection is with the execution, not the premise.
• 4:37
  SPEAKER_00: Love the concept, hate the forced token, Yuknevich said.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: Quote, if you want global talent, don't make them buy a mystery asset first, end quote.
• 4:47
  SPEAKER_00: With an unknown token, even one supposedly backed by gold, he argued, the program still feels risky for applicants, unfamiliar with the asset.
• 4:56
  SPEAKER_00: His proposed fix, quote, give applicants BTC, USDT, or USDC as deposit options, and if Bhutan wants TER adoption, do the conversion behind the scenes, end quote.
• 5:09
  SPEAKER_00: Without that flexibility, he warned, the visa risks looking less like immigration policy and more like token distribution with a visa wrapper.
• 5:19
  SPEAKER_00: Yuknevich also questioned the demand side.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: Quote, I'm not sure how many people are looking to relocate to Bhutan, end quote.
• 5:27
  SPEAKER_00: He noted, describing it as a place without established tourism infrastructure that could support a steady flow of remote workers.
• 5:35
  SPEAKER_00: Niche interest in unconventional destinations will always exist, but volume is another matter.
• 5:41
  SPEAKER_00: Still, on the broader concept, he was supportive.
• 5:45
  SPEAKER_00: I love this idea, he said.
• 5:47
  SPEAKER_00: It provides wider crypto adoption and hopeful usage.
• 5:51
  SPEAKER_00: For decades, Bhutan enforced some of the strictest tourism policies on Earth.
• 5:56
  SPEAKER_00: Visitors paid between$100 US dollars and$250 US dollars per day in mandatory fees and were required to travel on guided itineraries.
• 6:05
  SPEAKER_00: The digital nomad visa marks a reversal of that approach, opening the country to a self-selected class of long-term residents rather than short-stay tourists.
• 6:15
  SPEAKER_00: Digital nomad visas continue to proliferate.
• 6:18
  SPEAKER_00: Bulgaria and Taiwan both launched or expanded programs within the past year alone, bringing the global total past 50.
• 6:25
  SPEAKER_00: All of them ask for some combination of income proof, savings, and an application fee.
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_00: Bhutan is the only one that asks for a position in a sovereign token ecosystem.
• 6:36
  SPEAKER_00: That is a different product entirely.
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: This episode first appeared as an article by Ahmad Abbas on IMIDaily.com.
• 6:47
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• 6:53
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