Olivia Capozzalo & Camila Russo
January 06, 2026

gm Defiers!

Today’s big story:

Many across Crypto Twitter and mainstream media are speculating that the U.S. could seize up to $60 billion with of BTC from the Venezuelan government

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Today’s Big Story

Venezuela’s Bitcoin: If You Talk About the Seizure, Remember the Theft

In the wake of the United States’ capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, headlines have lit up with talk of a potential $60 billion Bitcoin windfall waiting to be seized from the Venezuelan government.

It’s an irresistible headline. A sudden windfall for Washington. Sixty billion dollars’ worth of BTC changing hands from a pariah regime to the world’s most powerful government.

But amid that speculation, it’s worth stepping back and asking a crucial question: where did that Bitcoin come from? It’s important to remember the ugly economic, political, and human context that underlies these figures.

Sanctions Evasion: Crypto as an Alternative Rail

If Venezuela has that much BTC (we’ll get to why that’s not necessarily true later), much of it comes from sanctions evasion.

With traditional finance blocked, the regime and its intermediaries allegedly turned to crypto, especially stablecoins such as USDT, to keep oil exports flowing and foreign revenue coming in. According to analysts, buyers of Venezuelan oil have been settling payments in digital dollars, sidestepping sanctions that would have otherwise frozen wire transfers or blocked accounts.

The failed Petro (PTR), Venezuela’s state-issued oil-backed token launched in 2018, was an early experiment in this space and a clear attempt to create an alternative payment mechanism imposed amidst hyperinflation and capital controls.

Why Venezuela Was Sanctioned in the First Place

The root of Venezuela’s prolonged economic isolation begins with the authoritarian rule of Nicolás Maduro. After inheriting the presidency from Hugo Chávez in 2013, Maduro’s government engaged in systematic repression of opposition groups, undermined democratic institutions, and presided over hyperinflation and economic collapse.

The United States first imposed significant sanctions on Venezuela’s state-owned firms and financial entities in 2017 and subsequently expanded them dramatically. The country’s oil giant, PDVSA, responsible for the lion’s share of Caracas’ foreign revenue, was explicitly targeted, restricting its access to international credit markets and U.S. dollar payment channels. Sanctions also hit apparent corruption networks tied to Maduro and his inner circle.

Theft from Venezuelans: The Human Cost

Sanctions and economic isolation are one part of the story; internal repression and theft are another.

Back when I was at Bloomberg, I interviewed multiple Venezuelan miners who had tried to eke out an honest living in crypto, only to have that opportunity stripped away by the state itself.

One miner told me how police and military officers broke into his home while he was away, seized his ASICs, and later demanded $15,000 (an astronomical sum in Venezuela) to make the problem “go away.” If he refused, they threatened to report him for illegal mining under currency-control laws and to go after his family.

That same day, he fled to the Colombian border with little more than the clothes on his back.

This was not random corruption; it was systemic. Mining raids became a revenue-generating tool for the security apparatus, where equipment was confiscated, and miners were left with no legal recourse or protection. In an economy already ravaged by hyperinflation, this was tantamount to outright state-sanctioned theft.

What’s Verified vs. What’s Rumor About Venezuela’s Bitcoin

Verified, on-chain data shows Venezuela holding a tiny fraction of the rumored stash, around 240 BTC, worth tens of millions rather than billions. By contrast, the quoted $60 billion figure originates from intelligence and market speculation, based on unverified estimates of hidden reserves and alleged conversions of gold and oil revenue into crypto.

No publicly verifiable wallet infrastructure links to a sovereign Bitcoin hoard of that magnitude. Advanced obfuscation or off-chain custody could explain gaps, but that remains speculation.

Even if an enormous stash exists somewhere off-chain, the notion that the U.S. can simply seize it is far from certain. Legal forfeiture requires clear jurisdiction, access to private keys or custodians under U.S. authority, and evidentiary links to criminal wrongdoing. The courts do not transfer crypto because headlines demand it.

Conclusion: Don’t Lose Sight of the Past

I’ll be blunt: whatever crypto the U.S. can prise from the hands of a regime built on repression and theft, the better. That money was never clean. It was extorted from Venezuelan citizens, coerced through sanctions-evasion schemes, and used to prop up a kleptocracy.

But before celebrating the idea of a $60 billion Bitcoin transfer to the U.S. balance sheet, it’s worth remembering how that crypto came to be.

With love,

Cami, founder of The Defiant

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