Don't hold your breath for Venezuela's bitcoin

2026-01-06 19:20:11

Source: CryptoNewsNet Original Title: Don’t hold your breath for Venezuela’s bitcoin Original Link: https://cryptonews.net/news/mining/32235359/ Recent speculation suggests that the Venezuelan regime could hold a secret stash of bitcoin, potentially valued at upwards of $60 billion. But the claim appears to be rooted in conjecture and secondhand reporting, lacking credible onchain evidence tying those funds to state-controlled wallets. As a born and raised Venezuelan who mined bitcoin in the country for years, I don’t believe the Venezuelan regime holds a massive secret stash of bitcoin, and I’ll explain why.

Breaking Down the Allegations

The claims from several articles suggest that the sources for the regime’s bitcoin stash were:

A large gold sale, swapped for bitcoin in 2018
Oil revenue priced in bitcoin
Stolen/seized mining equipment

I do believe, and it has also been reported, that Venezuela received payment for some oil sales in crypto. And I know for a fact that it stole mining equipment — some of it was my family’s. However, I haven’t seen credible evidence that the 2018 gold sale was converted into bitcoin, and given what we know about the key players, it’s unlikely.

BTC0,23%

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