Bhutan is expanding its national blockchain strategy with a gold-backed digital token issued by Gelephu Mindativity City and backed by the kingdom’s sovereignty framework.
According to an emailed announcement on Thursday, the TER token aims to serve as a new bridge between traditional stores of value and blockchain-based finance.
The tokens are issued on Solana and are distributed and hosted by DK Bank, Bhutan’s first licensed digital bank. In the first phase, investors can purchase TER directly through DK Bank, combining the familiarity of traditional asset purchases with the transparency of on-chain ownership.
TER aims to provide international investors with an accessible, tokenized version of gold, but with the benefits of digital custody and global transferability, the release said.
Bhutan’s Gelepu Mindfulness City is a special administrative region that aims to attract global investment, leveraging digital assets as its financial reserve and innovation ecosystem, forming a key part of Bhutan’s blockchain strategy to diversify the economy and create a digital-centric future.
Bhutan’s announcement comes just days after Kyrgyzstan launched USDKG, a gold-backed stablecoin pegged to the U.S. dollar, with an initial offering of $50 million and one of the first state-regulated digital asset initiatives in Central Asia.
TER and USDKG demonstrate a model for small countries to use blockchain to merge traditional assets such as gold with regulated digital finance – providing a new template for the development of digital assets rooted in tangible, audited reserves.
