Bhutan Bets on Binance Pay to Power Crypto-Backed Tourism Economy

Bhutan is going full tilt on crypto — not just to modernize its financial rails, but to attract high-value global travelers and build a digitally resilient economy.

At the Digital Bhutan panel, co-hosted by Binance, officials laid out a clear vision: bring crypto out of theory and into everyday life.

“Tourists complain they can’t use SWIFT or pay easily. Binance Pay fixes that,” said Damcho Rinzin, director of the department of tourism. Rinzin added that travelers are already using crypto to buy local goods — in one case, even groceries to cook their own meals.

Bhutan’s ambitions remain modest, just 300,000 visitors a year. But it wants them to stay longer and spend more — with Binance Pay’s 40 million plus user base as a lever. Binance CEO Richard Teng framed it as a shift from speculation to infrastructure.

“This is the first national crypto payments system,” Teng said. “The average crypto tourist spends $1,000 — nearly three times a regular tourist — and merchants receive instant settlements,” he added.

With over 1,000 merchants onboarded, and zero fees on Binance Pay compared to steep charges from other providers, Bhutan hopes to build a community-driven, tech-savvy ecosystem that aligns with its values. DK Bank, which played a pioneering role in Bhutan’s early bitcoin mining efforts, is now spearheading crypto adoption on the ground.

“Mobile and QR payments are already high,” said the bank’s CEO, Ugyen Tenzin said. “Crypto just fits," he added.

"And this is just the start," said Hobeng Lim, managing director of finance at Gelephu Mindfulness City. Gelephu Mindfulness City is a planned city in the country which merges technology, like blockchain, with culture, and sustainability.,

Lim added that they are many more blockchain-native projects in the pipeline, with digital assets formally recognized as a future growth engine.

“Crypto is not a side experiment, It’s a core industry,” Lim said.

Read more: Bhutan's Crypto Reserve Could Pave Way for Economic Growth in Other Countries