Venezuela could be sitting on a big Bitcoin stash, experts say. Here’s what could happen next

Following President Nicolás Maduro’s deposition final weekend, all eyes are on Venezuela and its huge oil reserves. However there’s one other useful resource Maduro’s regime is believed to have had in abundance – an asset that, if liquidated or seized, would have implications for world monetary markets: bitcoin.

Venezuela is probably going sitting on sizable quantities of the cryptocurrency – a stash that could possibly be price billions of U.S. {dollars}, consultants instructed CNBC. 

“It is particularly reasonable to imagine Venezuela had significant publicity to bitcoin,” mentioned Gui Gomes, founder and CEO of Latin America-based bitcoin agency OranjeBTC. “On condition that they had been excluded from the worldwide monetary system, in all probability they’d gold, bitcoin and a few {dollars} below their mattress.”

Sanctions levied towards Venezuela restricted the nation’s entry to monetary markets. To work round this, the nation doubtless experimented with cryptocurrencies, consultants mentioned. They famous that it is nearly inconceivable to determine the precise quantity of bitcoin Venezuela could also be sitting on, or the place these holdings could possibly be saved, as a result of privateness options of the decentralized asset and its underlying know-how. Nonetheless, one factor is obvious: If Maduro and his allies have tokens of their coffers, the property may quickly be on the transfer, they mentioned. And whether or not these bitcoins are offered, confiscated or exchanged, cryptocurrency holders might really feel the impression. 

Digital publication Undertaking Brazen reported Saturday that Venezuela might maintain roughly $60 billion, citing unnamed sources that weren’t confirmed by blockchain evaluation. Such a stash would put the regime among the many greatest holders of the crypto on this planet, alongside bitcoin treasury agency Technique.

Knowledge supplier Bitcointreasuries.internet places Venezuela’s holdings at 240 bitcoin, price roughly $22 million. To succeed in this estimate they used information from a blockchain analytics agency that was cited by a media outlet. Based mostly on their rankings, it could the ninth largest pile of bitcoin held by a authorities entity.

All these estimates should be taken with a grain of salt. Most of the largest corporations providing crypto custodial options, together with digital asset financial institution Anchorage Digital and Fireblocks, are registered within the U.S. or allied nations, so Venezuela would have needed to flip to extra covert strategies to amass its shadow reserve, Haun Ventures common companion Diogo Mónica instructed CNBC. 

“There are such a lot of [solutions] for bitcoin off the shelf, it’s really very simple so that you can meet the brink of excessive safety” by these means, Mónica mentioned. 

In consequence, any bitcoin held by Venezuela is probably going distributed throughout 1000’s of crypto wallets below the management of assorted generals and different members of Maduro’s get together, making tough to establish and observe, in keeping with OranjeBTC’s Gomes.

On-chain evaluation can reveal transaction histories and balances of public addresses linked to {hardware} wallets, in keeping with blockchain evaluation agency Chainalysis. However these strategies can’t provide conclusive insights into pockets house owners’ identities, making it tough for cybercrime consultants to establish which wallets belong to Venezuelan officers.

That mentioned, it is nonetheless possible that Venezuela might have amassed massive quantities of bitcoin in recent times to navigate the results of its exclusion from world monetary markets, Andrew Fierman, head of nationwide safety intelligence at Chainalysis, instructed CNBC. 

He famous that the nation has a historical past of utilizing unorthodox strategies to transform and switch its wealth, together with by flying allies of Maduro to international locales to change tangible property for extra liquid funds.

“In the event that they’re prepared to ship a man on a personal jet with a ton of gold on board, it could make lots of sense that they might additionally search to make the most of crypto property for each retailer of wealth and likewise for cross border commerce,” Fierman mentioned. He declined to estimate the worth of Venezuela’s holdings.  

The South American nation additionally has an extended historical past of experimenting with cryptocurrencies, Fierman mentioned. He cited the issuance in 2018 of a token known as petro, which later failed and was sunsetted in 2024, for instance. 

Given its historical past with digital property, it is also doable the Venezuelan authorities holds different cryptocurrencies in addition to bitcoin, together with stablecoins, in keeping with Fierman.

Nonetheless, bitcoin would doubtless be the favored asset as it’s issued by an agnostic community and has no direct ties to the U.S. greenback, in contrast to most stablecoins, mentioned Jorge Jraissati, president of the nonprofit Financial Inclusion Group. He added that a number of the regime’s bitcoins might have been acquired by native authorities’ seizures of crypto miners’ token rewards. 

In 2017, CNBC reported on Venezuelan authorities’ efforts to curb crypto mining by arresting bitcoin miners and seizing their property. That was earlier than the nation fully outlawed the apply in 2024, citing vitality considerations. 

Knowledge from Hashrate index exhibits that Venezuela nonetheless accounted for about 0.6% of all hashrates, a measure of energy used to mine tokens on the bitcoin blockchain as of 2025. 

Assuming Venezuela holds bitcoin, hypothesis abounds on what occurs subsequent. One chance is that the Maduro regime will go up on the market, in keeping with Sebastian Pedro Bea, president and chief funding officer at ReserveOne.

“Anytime you might have a chaotic regime change, the property of that nation grow to be unstable, like folks can simply steal stuff,” Bea mentioned. “I am not suggesting that is doubtless, however it’s extra doubtless as we speak than final week that, if they’ve bitcoin, a few of that bitcoin might find yourself on change, or might find yourself being offered.”

That sell-off might dent bitcoin’s value within the near-term.

Alternatively, the U.S. might seize Venezuela’s bitcoin as a part of its enforcement actions, in keeping with Bea. 

“Nothing is stopping the U.S. from doing extra enforcement actions that go after dangerous actors [in Venezuela] who might occur to have lots of bitcoin,” Bea mentioned. “And after they try this, that bitcoin can go proper to Treasury.”

Some cryptocurrency holders have speculated the Trump administration might confiscate a few of Maduro and his allies’ bitcoin, with the goal making a U.S. bitcoin reserve without charge to taxpayers.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an govt order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve without charge to taxpayers – a central tenet of his pro-crypto coverage plans. Nonetheless, critics and proponents alike have questioned the logistics of the proposal, together with how bitcoin could possibly be collected in a tax-neutral manner.

Chris Perkins, managing companion and president of funding agency CoinFund, mentioned it is unclear whether or not the U.S. might legally use Venezuela’s bitcoin to create its deliberate strategic reserve. Nonetheless, such a situation would in the end be bullish for the asset, in keeping with the chief.

“… To the extent that the Trump administration comes into possession of a major quantity of bitcoin, do not count on them to dump it into the market,” mentioned Perkins, who served as a U.S. marine. 

No matter occurs subsequent, the U.S.’ latest actions in Venezuela underscore the Trump administration’s means and willingness to wield its energy to advance its coverage goals, which embody selling and advancing the digital property trade, in keeping with Bea.

“Crypto appears to be an unintended beneficiary, long run, of the [U.S. military intervention in Venezuela],” Bea mentioned.