Venezuela's $60 Billion Bitcoin "Shadow Reserve" to Reshape Global Market Dynamics

BlockBeats News, January 5th, analyst Serenity disclosed that, based on public information statistics, the Maduro regime in Venezuela has accumulated a "shadow reserve" of over $60 billion worth of Bitcoin and USDT. Since 2018, it has been established through "gold swaps" and requiring settlement in USDT for oil exports to evade sanctions. Previously, due to the failure of Venezuela's "oil-backed cryptocurrency" experiment, the Maduro regime has turned to using USDT as a substitute for the petrodollar during oil sales. As it became evident that USDT still has the function of frozen addresses, Venezuela started converting USDT into Bitcoin. The approximate breakdown of Venezuela's holdings can be estimated as follows:

Bitcoin accumulated through gold swaps from 2018 to 2020, with gold proceeds converted to Bitcoin at an average price of $5,000, currently worth approximately $45 billion to $50 billion;

Bitcoin obtained from oil exports between 2023 and 2025, currently worth around $10 billion to $15 billion;

Bitcoin seized through mining raids between 2023 and 2024, approximately $500 million.

Overall, the total value of BTC accumulated by Venezuela from 2018 to 2026 is approximately $56 billion to $67 billion, implying a Bitcoin quantity exceeding 660,000, with a minimum of 600,000. Even if Maduro is currently detained, it does not mean that the US has full control of these Bitcoins. The upcoming major interrogation around Maduro will reshape the global Bitcoin market landscape.