BTSE Bhutan has announced that it has received a Financial Services License from the Gelephu Financial Services Office, moving the virtual-asset trading company beyond the in-principle approval TNGlobal covered in May.
The license covers operation of a multilateral trading facility for virtual assets and custody services within the Gelephu Mindfulness City Special Administrative Region in southern Bhutan.
The GFSO’s public financial-institutions directory lists BTSE Exchange Pte. Ltd. as active for both activities. The directory gives an effective date of July 24, 2026, while BTSE publicly announced the final license on September 29.
Trading and custody authorized
BTSE Bhutan said the final license confirms that it has satisfied the conditions attached to its earlier in-principle approval.
Under the GFSO framework, the company is authorized to operate a multilateral trading facility and provide custody for virtual assets. BTSE said client assets will be held under its licensed custody arrangements.
Yew Chong Quak, CEO of BTSE Bhutan, said the company will now focus on launching trading services while expanding its offering in phases and maintaining compliance and security requirements.
BTC and ETH spot trading planned first
BTSE Bhutan plans to begin onboarding users in the coming weeks. Its initial spot markets are expected to be BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT, with additional crypto trading pairs to follow subject to the company’s listing framework and regulatory requirements.
The company also plans to introduce fiat on-ramp and off-ramp services later in the rollout, including support for moving between US dollars and virtual assets.
Building a local presence in Gelephu
BTSE Bhutan said it has appointed key personnel since receiving in-principle approval and is building out its presence in Gelephu. The company plans to establish a local office and hire local talent as operations expand.
Gelephu Mindfulness City is a special administrative region that Bhutan is developing as an economic hub with its own regulatory framework. The GFSO maintains a public directory of approved financial institutions operating under that framework.