BTSE Exchange Pte Ltd, operating as BTSE Bhutan, has been granted a Financial Services License by the Gelephu Financial Services Office, the regulator of Bhutan's Gelephu Mindfulness City special administrative region, the company announced on Sept. 29. The license follows the in-principle approval BTSE received in April and confirms that it has met all of the regulator's pre-conditions.
The license covers two regulated activities: operating a multilateral trading facility for virtual assets, and providing institutional custody for virtual assets. BTSE was the first exchange to receive in-principle approval under the GMC framework.
The rollout will be phased. BTSE Bhutan plans to begin onboarding users in the coming weeks, starting with spot trading in the BTC/USDT and ETH/USDT pairs. Further pairs will be added subject to the platform's listing framework and regulatory requirements, and fiat on- and off-ramps between US dollars and virtual assets are planned for a later stage. All client assets will be held under the company's licensed custody arrangements.
"Receiving our Financial Services License is a major milestone as we plan to launch our retail trading platform globally," said Yew Chong Quak, chief executive of BTSE Bhutan. "Our priority now is to launch Bitcoin and Ethereum trading services, expanding our offerings step by step."
The reference to a global retail platform is notable given how narrow the initial offering is. With only two USDT pairs at launch and no fiat access, the Bhutan entity will start as a limited venue, and the announcement does not say which jurisdictions' users it will be able to onboard. The company said it has appointed key personnel since receiving its in-principle approval and plans to open a local office in Gelephu and hire local staff.
GMC has been positioning itself as a crypto-friendly hub. Its licensing model combines regulatory approval and corporate banking into a single application, offers fast-track review for firms already regulated in Singapore, Abu Dhabi Global Market or Hong Kong, and pairs that with zero corporate tax for priority sectors through 2030. Bhutan committed 10,000 BTC toward the city's development in December 2025, and Matrixport received in-principle approval for regulated financial services in GMC in February.
BTSE's full license moves the regime a step closer to having a live exchange. Whether GMC can attract meaningful trading activity will depend on how many users BTSE is permitted to serve and how quickly the fiat rails arrive.
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