The integration marks a major milestone as Bhutan adopts decentralised infrastructure for secure, citizen-led identity systems.
The Kingdom of Bhutan has announced the successful integration of its National Digital Identity (NDI) platform with the Ethereum blockchain, marking a historic step in its journey towards digital sovereignty.
The move establishes Bhutan as the first nation to adopt Ethereum’s open, decentralised infrastructure for its national identity verification. The integration allows Bhutan’s NDI to issue Verifiable Credentials (VCs) and enable digital signing directly on Ethereum, anchoring decentralised identifiers (DIDs) to the blockchain’s global validator network.
This ensures enhanced transparency, security, and resilience — qualities vital for maintaining the long-term durability of a sovereign digital identity framework.
“The integration of Bhutan’s National Digital Identity platform with Ethereum marks a major step in advancing our nation’s digital sovereignty,” said Lyonchen Tshering Tobgay, Prime Minister of Bhutan.
“By leveraging Ethereum’s globally distributed network, we are strengthening the security, transparency, and resilience of Bhutan’s digital infrastructure. This milestone also affirms our vision of building an interoperable and user-controlled identity system that connects Bhutan to global ecosystems while upholding His Majesty the King’s vision of a secure, inclusive, and digitally empowered society.”
The move comes as part of Bhutan’s broader digital transformation strategy, aligning with its plan to migrate the entire national identity framework to an Ethereum-based platform by early 2026. Ethereum’s decentralised node network will provide Bhutan with a transparent, open-source foundation resistant to single points of failure and foreign platform dependencies.
“Decentralised digital identity empowers people by giving them secure control over their data and their online lives,” said Vitalik Buterin, Co-founder of Ethereum. “Bhutan’s embrace of an open architecture on Ethereum reflects why we build this platform — to drive meaningful, positive change through open-source technology.”
Since its launch in 2023, Bhutan’s NDI platform has been at the forefront of self-sovereign identity (SSI) innovation, becoming the first national system deployed at a population scale. It enables citizens to verify their identity and access services without relying on centralised government databases, ensuring privacy and autonomy.
“Bhutan’s transition reflects what Ethereum was always designed for — empowering individuals with sovereignty over their own data, fostering trust without central points of failure, and enabling inclusive digital systems that serve people first,” added Aya Miyaguchi, President of the Ethereum Foundation.
Bhutan’s adoption of Ethereum underscores its commitment to open, interoperable digital infrastructure. The government plans to extend its use of blockchain to digital document signing and blockchain-based voting, advancing its goal of a secure, transparent, and citizen-led digital nation.
The Bhutan National Digital Identity (NDI) initiative remains a flagship effort in the country’s digital modernisation — a model for how decentralised technologies can support trusted, equitable, and sovereign public systems.
Stay updated on the crypto space by following our socials
