Royal Decree clears Gelephu Financial Services Office to become Gelephu Central Bank and allowed to hold crypto — source‑reported

What reporters say happened

On‑record reports reproduce an official Gelephu public release and independent journalism saying His Majesty the King signed a Royal Decree upgrading the Gelephu Financial Services Office (GFSO) into an autonomous Gelephu Central Bank (GCB).

The same reporting states the Royal Decree explicitly authorises the GCB to invest in digital assets and cryptocurrencies as part of its reserve portfolio. Sources: BBS public release; CryptoBriefing; crypto.news.

Essential confirmed facts (summary)

The primary official report is a BBS news release that, according to on‑record coverage, quotes or reproduces Royal Decree language granting comprehensive central‑bank powers to the GFSO and enabling its transition to the Gelephu Central Bank.

CryptoBriefing reports the signature date as November 1–2, 2026 and says the decree permits the GCB to hold digital and cryptocurrency assets in reserves.

crypto.news reports prior Gelephu Mindfulness City (GMC) statements naming Bitcoin, Ether and BNB as potential strategic reserve assets and notes a July appointment of Canadian manager 3iQ to a Bitcoin mandate (amounts undisclosed).

What remains unconfirmed

None of the supplied sources provided the full legal text of the Royal Decree, implementing regulations, or internal GCB investment policy documents.

The exact size, timing and mechanism of any cryptocurrency purchases by the GCB — including whether and when any BTC, ETH or other tokens were transferred into official reserves — are not documented in the supplied material.

The detailed terms and asset quantity in the reported 3iQ mandate were not supplied and thus the amount (if any) assigned to that manager is unconfirmed.

Context and prior GMC crypto plans

Reporting links the decree to a broader GMC strategy. crypto.news and CryptoBriefing summarise earlier GMC statements from December 2025 that referenced a pledge of up to 10,000 BTC and listed Bitcoin, Ether and BNB among assets GMC intended to recognise as strategic reserves.

crypto.news also reports GMC has been building an administrative and supervisory framework that treats traditional finance and virtual assets under a common regulatory umbrella inside the zone (citing the Financial Services Act 2025 and subsequent rulebooks), and that licensed virtual‑asset firms have been named in prior directories.

CryptoBriefing and crypto.news report GMC recruitment drives to staff the transition, seeking more than 50 positions in supervision, AML, operations, technology, and macroeconomics to build the new institution’s capabilities.

Detailed confirmed developments from sources

BBS public release: reports the Royal Decree grants the GFSO broad central‑bank powers, including authority to create payment and settlement systems, provide liquidity support where necessary, and support development of money and capital markets within GMC.

CryptoBriefing: reports the decree’s formal elevation of the GFSO into an autonomous central bank and notes the explicit permissive language allowing reserve investments in digital assets and cryptocurrencies.

crypto.news: reports the decree’s authorisations and places them against GMC’s earlier public guidance and operational steps — including announcements naming candidate reserve assets and the July appointment of 3iQ to a crypto management mandate (mandate quantity undisclosed).

Significance — reported implications and limits

Reported significance must be read alongside missing operational details

Why sources call it noteworthy: CryptoBriefing frames the decree as a legitimacy signal — a central bank, even one restricted to a special economic zone, formally authorised to include crypto in reserves could attract crypto firms seeking regulatory clarity and jurisdictions that allow institutional reserve allocations to digital assets.

Limitations to that significance: reporting does not show any actual transfers of assets into central‑bank reserves, nor does it provide the decree’s full legal text or internal investment rules that would determine how permissive or constrained such reserve investments are in practice.

Analysis and open questions

Interpretation (based on supplied reporting): The Royal Decree appears to create a legal pathway for a zone‑level central bank to hold digital assets, aligning legal authority with prior public statements by GMC about crypto reserves and an earlier external manager appointment. That alignment strengthens the plausibility that GMC intends to operationalise some crypto reserve holdings, but it does not constitute evidence that purchases have occurred.

Key open questions journalists and readers will likely ask next: Did the GCB or GMC already transfer any crypto into an official reserve account? If so, how much and when? What custody, auditing and accounting standards will the GCB apply? What are the exact legal limits and procedural rules in the full Royal Decree and any implementing regulations? What are the precise terms of the 3iQ appointment and other manager mandates?

What to watch for next (sourced developments that would clarify the story)

Any of the above would convert permissive legal language reported in current sources into verifiable operational facts.

• Release or publication of the full Royal Decree text and any implementing regulations or policy instruments.
• Official GCB disclosures of reserve holdings or audited statements showing cryptocurrency positions.
• Publication of mandate documents or confirmations from 3iQ (or other managers) specifying assets and quantities under management.
• Regulatory or supervisory rulebooks from the GCB clarifying custody, valuation, liquidity and risk limits for crypto reserve holdings.

Current status (as of supplied reporting)

On‑record reporting from BBS, CryptoBriefing and crypto.news confirms the Royal Decree and the explicit authorisation for GCB reserve investments in digital assets.

Operational details and primary legal and mandate documents that would show purchase amounts, custody arrangements or implementation rules were not supplied and remain unconfirmed.

Reader guidance and caution

This brief uses only the supplied on‑record reports and attributes claims accordingly. Reports that an institutional central bank can hold crypto are confirmed in the sense that the decree was reported and reproduced by an official outlet; however, permissive authority is not the same as executed purchases.

Avoid treating any reported pledge numbers (for example, the earlier up to 10,000 BTC comment) or manager appointments as evidence of actual transferred reserves until primary documents or audited disclosures are published.