BlockBeats News, January 5 — Analyst Serenity revealed that based on publicly available information, the Maduro regime in Venezuela has accumulated a “shadow reserve” of over $60 billion worth of Bitcoin and USDT, established since 2018 through “gold swaps” and by demanding USDT settlement for oil exports to evade sanctions. Previously, due to the failure of Venezuela’s “Oil Coin” experiment, the Maduro regime turned to using USDT as an alternative to petrodollars during crude oil sales. As they realized that USDT still has the function of freezing addresses, Venezuela began converting USDT into Bitcoin. The estimated holdings are as follows: Bitcoin accumulated through gold swaps from 2018-2020, with gold proceeds converted into Bitcoin at an average price of $5,000, currently valued at approximately $45 billion to $50 billion; Bitcoin from oil exports in 2023-2025, currently valued at about $10 billion to $15 billion; Bitcoin seized through mining seizures in 2023-2024, about $500 million. In total, Venezuela’s accumulated BTC from 2018 to 2026 is estimated to be around $56 billion to $67 billion, with an implied Bitcoin quantity exceeding 660,000 coins, at least 600,000 coins. Even if Maduro is currently detained, it does not mean the United States has full control over these Bitcoins. Major trials surrounding Maduro are expected to unfold, which will reshape the global Bitcoin market landscape.
Disclaimer: The information on this page may come from third parties and does not represent the views or opinions of Gate. The content displayed on this page is for reference only and does not constitute any financial, investment, or legal advice. Gate does not guarantee the accuracy or completeness of the information and shall not be liable for any losses arising from the use of this information. Virtual asset investments carry high risks and are subject to significant price volatility. You may lose all of your invested principal. Please fully understand the relevant risks and make prudent decisions based on your own financial situation and risk tolerance. For details, please refer to
Disclaimer.
Related Articles
Bitcoin Breaks $72K as $280M Bear Liquidations Test Fragile Truce
Bitcoin extended a sharp intraday move higher on Tuesday, rising about 6% within four hours as risk appetite improved in tandem with a broader rally in global equities after news of a two-week ceasefire between the United States and Iran. The swift price surge coincided with a wave of liquidations i
CryptoBreaking54m ago
BTC drops 0.62% over 15 minutes: exchange net inflows intensify and short-term arbitrage converges to trigger volatility
From 18:00 to 18:15 on April 9, 2026 (UTC), the BTC price return recorded -0.62%, closing in the range of 71857.8 to 72375.1 USDT, with a trading range of 0.72%. Market attention was notably elevated, volatility intensified, and capital moved quickly within a short period. Overall market sentiment has become more cautious, and investors’ willingness to trade in the short term has increased.
The main driving force behind this abnormal move is an increase in net inflows to BTC exchanges during the anomaly window; the 10-minute net flow reached 755.92 BTC, indicating that some investors chose to transfer funds to exchanges to seek arbitrage opportunities in the midst of the volatility issue
GateNews2h ago
BTC 15-minute pump 0.55%: Large on-chain funds inflows and options positioning resonate to lift spot prices
2026-04-09 17:00 to 2026-04-09 17:15 (UTC), the BTC spot market saw a rapid spike with a +0.55% return. The price range was 72,063.9 to 72,518.5 USDT, and the full-period amplitude reached 0.63%. This upswing coincided with rising market attention; volatility clearly intensified, drawing funds into short-term trading in a mix of cautious sentiment and localized increased volume.
The main driving force behind this move was concentrated inflows to exchanges from on-chain large transfers, which pushed up spot market buy orders in a short time. Data shows that, in the past 24 hours, on-chain BTC transfers
GateNews3h ago
Mainstream CEX and DEX funding-rate displays suggest an increasingly bearish market sentiment
On April 10, the Bitcoin price broke through $72k again. According to Coinglass data, the funding rates on major trading platforms show that the market’s bearish sentiment is strengthening. Funding rates are used to balance the contract price with the asset price; a rate below 0.005% indicates that the market is broadly bearish.
GateNews3h ago
Over the past 1 hour, forced liquidations across the entire market totaled $101 million, including $80.39 million in BTC liquidations.
Gate News message, on April 9, CoinGlass data shows that over the past 1 hour, liquidations across the entire network totaled $101 million, including $97.07 million from short liquidations and $3.54 million from long liquidations. In addition, the liquidation amount for BTC reached $80.39 million, while the liquidation amount for ETH reached $11.79 million.
GateNews4h ago
