Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, are in US custody and have pleaded not guilty in a New York federal court to narco-terrorism, cocaine trafficking and weapons charges.

Meanwhile, data that track sovereign and corporate Bitcoin treasuries attribute around 240 BTC to the Venezuelan state, valued in the tens of millions of dollars at recent prices.

Separate reports, however, claim that the Maduro government may have accumulated a much larger, undisclosed Bitcoin position while under US sanctions.

According to Whale Hunting, the total holdings could reach up to 600,000 BTC, implying a notional value of about 60 billion dollars at current market levels, although these figures remain unconfirmed and rely on indirect evidence.

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If those estimates are correct, the alleged reserve would represent close to 3% of Bitcoin Bitcoin While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that While some may still be wondering what is Bitcoin, who created Bitcoin, or how does Bitcoin work, one thing is certain: Bitcoin has changed the world.No one can remain indifferent to this revolutionary, decentralized, digital asset nor to its blockchain technology.In fact, we’ve gone a long way ever since a Florida resident Laszlo Hanyecz made BTC’s first official commercial transaction with a real company by trading 10,000 Bitcoins for 2 pizzas at his local Papa John’s.One could now argue that Read this Term’s circulating supply and place Venezuela among the largest known holders.

Alleged Accumulation via Gold Sales

Sources cited in recent analyses link the rumored reserve to steps Venezuela allegedly took to obtain hard currency while cut off from much of the global financial system.

According to these accounts, the government sold physical gold from the Orinoco Mining Arc and used some of the proceeds to buy Bitcoin, with one tranche estimated at roughly 2 billion dollars executed at an average price near 5,000 dollars per coin.

JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇻🇪 US government could seize Venezuela's Bitcoin & crypto reserves, CNBC says. pic.twitter.com/B6NN05qJFi

— Watcher.Guru (@WatcherGuru) January 5, 2026

Additional reports say Venezuela’s state oil company asked some buyers to pay in Tether (USDT) rather than using the traditional banking system to avoid sanctions-related blocks.

Related: Why Oil Prices Are Falling? Brent and WTI Slip after Maduro Capture in Venezuela as Gold Surges

This alleged reserve-building aligns with domestic policy shifts. Last year, Venezuelan authorities banned Bitcoin mining and seized thousands of ASIC ASIC The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the prime regulator in Australia for corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit. It is empowered under the financial service laws to facilitate, regulate, and enforce Australian financial laws. The Australian Commission was set up and is administered under the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act of 2001. ASIC was initially the Australian Securities Commission based on the 1989 ASC Act. Initially, the The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) is the prime regulator in Australia for corporate, markets, financial services, and consumer credit. It is empowered under the financial service laws to facilitate, regulate, and enforce Australian financial laws. The Australian Commission was set up and is administered under the Australian Securities and Investment Commission Act of 2001. ASIC was initially the Australian Securities Commission based on the 1989 ASC Act. Initially, the Read this Term machines, citing energy concerns, while also discontinuing the state-backed Petro token. This was a part of earlier efforts to curb the sector.

Everyone’s focused on the oil…
But here’s what’s being missed 👀

Venezuela is reportedly among largest
Bitcoin holders… Over 600,000 $BTC

Worth $55+ BILLION at current prices

This isn’t just an energy story.
It’s a sovereign Bitcoin narrative.

And the market hasn’t priced… pic.twitter.com/C5K94i8nfG

— cryptothedoggy (@cryptothedoggy) January 5, 2026

If US investigators identify and secure wallets linked to Venezuelan state Bitcoin holdings, the coins could become subject to a complex legal process rather than immediate sale.

A New Focus on Undisclosed Sovereign BTC Exposure

For the Bitcoin market, that kind of freeze would remove a large block of supply from active circulation and delay any significant liquidation risk linked to Venezuela. According to market analysts risk sentiment remains strong.

“Overall, risk sentiment is strong and events in Venezuela did not weigh on positive momentum. However, this does not mean that the recent events in Venezuela have been dismissed by traders,” said Kathleen Brooks, Research Director at XTB.

“Instead, they could keep upward pressure on defense stocks as investors assess who could be the next target for the US, and as Russia and China get emboldened to violate UN law to meet their own foreign policy goals,” she added.

In 2019, Maduro directed Banco de Venezuela, the nation’s largest bank, to accept deposits of the Petro, Venezuela’s state-backed cryptocurrency. The directive mandated its use across all its branches, according an announcement from the country’s Finance Ministry.

US forces transferred Maduro and his wife from Venezuela to the USS Iwo Jima and then to New York, where they entered not-guilty pleas before a federal judge on Monday.

Their detention marks a major escalation in US action against Venezuela’s former leadership after years of sanctions and diplomatic confrontation.