Mysten Labs and Bhutan’s DHI are piloting ByteCrane, an offline relay system enabling Sui blockchain transactions without direct internet connectivity.
Mysten Labs has partnered with Druk Holding and Investments Ltd. (DHI), through its Innotech Department, to pilot a method for conducting blockchain transactions without direct internet connectivity in Bhutan.
The teams completed a week-long engineering exercise earlier this month to begin testing ByteCrane, a system designed to let Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices communicate with the Sui blockchain through offline, physical relays, positioning the pilot as an exploration of how resilient blockchain infrastructure could operate in difficult terrain.
Mysten Labs said Sui’s design made it suitable for the ByteCrane pilot, citing its Delegated Proof of Stake mechanism, seconds-level finality, parallel execution, and low, predictable gas fees for high-volume IoT workloads, while lightweight ESP32 microcontrollers running “microSui” were used to sign and package data transactions.
Phuntsho Namgay, Director, Innotech Department, DHI, said: “By applying advanced technology to real challenges shaped by our geography, initiatives like this enable Bhutan to develop solutions with relevance far beyond our borders.”
Bhutan’s remote valleys can face connectivity gaps, and the pilot is framed around the principle of “sign offline, carry physically, verify on-chain”, with sensors collecting environmental data such as temperature and humidity and signing transactions entirely offline.
Because mountainous ridges can block radio frequencies, the system uses drones to physically transport signed, tamper-proof messages to gateways with internet access, where the data is verified and published on the Sui blockchain to test how an immutable record can be maintained under real-world constraints.
Kostas Chalkias, Chief Cryptographer and Co-Founder at Mysten Labs, said: “Bhutan’s unique terrain provides a real-world opportunity to explore internet-less connectivity. Theory and practice don’t always align, but for decentralised systems to be global and inclusive, they need to function reliably in environments where constant connectivity isn’t a given.”
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