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

Following President Nicolás Maduro's deposition past weekend, each eyes are connected Venezuela and its immense lipid reserves. But there's different assets Maduro's authorities is believed to person had successful abundance – an plus that, if liquidated oregon seized, would person implications for planetary fiscal markets: bitcoin.

Venezuela is apt sitting connected sizable amounts of the cryptocurrency – a stash that could beryllium worthy billions of U.S. dollars, experts told CNBC. 

"It's precise just to presume Venezuela had meaningful vulnerability to bitcoin," said Gui Gomes, laminitis and CEO of Latin America-based bitcoin steadfast OranjeBTC. "Given that they were excluded from the planetary fiscal system, astir apt they had gold, bitcoin and immoderate dollars nether their mattress."

Sanctions levied against Venezuela restricted the nation's entree to fiscal markets. To enactment astir this, the state apt experimented with cryptocurrencies, experts said. They noted that it's virtually intolerable to ascertain the nonstop magnitude of bitcoin Venezuela whitethorn beryllium sitting on, oregon wherever those holdings could beryllium stored, owed to the privateness features of the decentralized plus and its underlying technology. However, 1 happening is clear: If Maduro and his allies person tokens successful their coffers, the assets mightiness soon beryllium connected the move, they said. And whether those bitcoins are sold, confiscated oregon exchanged, cryptocurrency holders could consciousness the impact. 

Digital work Project Brazen reported Saturday that Venezuela could clasp astir $60 billion, citing unnamed sources that were not confirmed done blockchain analysis. Such a stash would enactment the authorities among the biggest holders of the crypto successful the world, alongside bitcoin treasury steadfast Strategy.

Data supplier Bitcointreasuries.net puts Venezuela's holdings astatine 240 bitcoin, worthy astir $22 million. To scope this estimation they utilized information from a blockchain analytics steadfast that was cited by a media outlet. Based connected their rankings, it would the ninth largest heap of bitcoin held by a authorities entity.

All these estimates indispensable beryllium taken with a atom of salt. Many of the largest firms offering crypto custodial solutions, including integer plus slope Anchorage Digital and Fireblocks, are registered successful the U.S. oregon allied nations, truthful Venezuela would person had to crook to much covert techniques to amass its shadiness reserve, Haun Ventures wide spouse Diogo Mónica told CNBC. 

"There are truthful galore [solutions] for bitcoin disconnected the shelf, it is really precise casual for you to conscionable the threshold of precocious security" done those means, Mónica said. 

As a result, immoderate bitcoin held by Venezuela is apt distributed crossed thousands of crypto wallets nether the power of assorted generals and different members of Maduro's party, making hard to place and track, according to OranjeBTC's Gomes.

On-chain investigation tin uncover transaction histories and balances of nationalist addresses linked to hardware wallets, according to blockchain investigation steadfast Chainalysis. But those methods cannot connection conclusive insights into wallet owners' identities, making it hard for cybercrime experts to place which wallets beryllium to Venezuelan officials.

That said, it's inactive probable that Venezuela could person amassed ample amounts of bitcoin successful caller years to navigate the consequences of its exclusion from planetary fiscal markets, Andrew Fierman, caput of nationalist information quality astatine Chainalysis, told CNBC. 

He noted that the state has a past of utilizing unorthodox methods to person and transportation its wealth, including by flying allies of Maduro to overseas locales to speech tangible assets for much liquid funds.

"If they're consenting to nonstop a feline connected a backstage pitchy with a ton of golden connected board, it would marque a batch of consciousness that they would besides question to utilize crypto assets for some store of wealthiness and besides for transverse borderline trade," Fierman said. He declined to estimation the worth of Venezuela's holdings.  

The South American federation besides has a agelong past of experimenting with cryptocurrencies, Fierman said. He cited the issuance successful 2018 of a token called petro, which aboriginal failed and was sunsetted successful 2024, arsenic an example. 

Given its past with integer assets, it's besides imaginable the Venezuelan authorities holds different cryptocurrencies too bitcoin, including stablecoins, according to Fierman.

However, bitcoin would apt beryllium the favored plus arsenic it is issued by an agnostic web and has nary nonstop ties to the U.S. dollar, dissimilar astir stablecoins, said Jorge Jraissati, president of the nonprofit Economic Inclusion Group. He added that immoderate of the regime's bitcoins could person been acquired done section authorities' seizures of crypto miners' token rewards. 

In 2017, CNBC reported connected Venezuelan authorities' efforts to curb crypto mining by arresting bitcoin miners and seizing their assets. That was earlier the federation wholly outlawed the signifier successful 2024, citing vigor concerns. 

Data from Hashrate index shows that Venezuela inactive accounted for astir 0.6% of each hashrates, a measurement of powerfulness utilized to excavation tokens connected the bitcoin blockchain arsenic of 2025. 

Assuming Venezuela holds bitcoin, speculation abounds connected what happens next. One anticipation is that the Maduro authorities volition spell up for sale, according to Sebastian Pedro Bea, president and main concern serviceman astatine ReserveOne.

"Anytime you person a chaotic authorities change, the assets of that state go unstable, similar radical tin conscionable bargain stuff," Bea said. "I'm not suggesting that's likely, but it is much apt contiguous than past week that, if they person bitcoin, immoderate of that bitcoin could extremity up connected exchange, oregon could extremity up being sold."

That sell-off could dent bitcoin's terms successful the near-term.

Alternatively, the U.S. could prehend Venezuela's bitcoin arsenic portion of its enforcement actions, according to Bea. 

"Nothing is stopping the U.S. from doing much enforcement actions that spell aft atrocious actors [in Venezuela] who could hap to person a batch of bitcoin," Bea said. "And erstwhile they bash that, that bitcoin tin spell close to Treasury."

Some cryptocurrency holders person speculated the Trump medication could confiscate immoderate of Maduro and his allies' bitcoin, with the purpose creating a U.S. bitcoin reserve astatine nary outgo to taxpayers.

U.S. President Donald Trump signed an enforcement bid to create a strategical bitcoin reserve astatine nary outgo to taxpayers – a cardinal tenet of his pro-crypto argumentation plans. However, critics and proponents alike person questioned the logistics of the proposal, including however bitcoin could beryllium accumulated successful a tax-neutral way.

Chris Perkins, managing spouse and president of concern steadfast CoinFund, said it's unclear whether the U.S. could legally usage Venezuela's bitcoin to make its planned strategical reserve. However, specified a script would yet beryllium bullish for the asset, according to the executive.

"... To the grade that the Trump medication comes into possession of a important magnitude of bitcoin, don't expect them to dump it into the market," said Perkins, who served arsenic a U.S. marine. 

Whatever happens next, the U.S.' caller actions successful Venezuela underscore the Trump administration's quality and willingness to wield its powerfulness to beforehand its argumentation objectives, which see promoting and advancing the integer assets industry, according to Bea.

"Crypto seems to beryllium an unintended beneficiary, agelong term, of the [U.S. subject involution successful Venezuela]," Bea said.