Bitcoin Price Surges Amid Rumors of a Secret Reserve Following Maduro's Downfall

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless stated otherwise) The new year has begun on a positive note for crypto: Bitcoin is trading near $92,700, with a 1.3% increase over the past 24 hours and a 5% rise in the first five days of the year. Major alternative coins such as XRP, SOL, BNB, and ETH have seen gains of 1%-3% over the past day, with XRP up 2.49%, SOL up 1.27%, BNB up 0.54%, and ETH up 0.99%. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has risen 1.25%, indicating strength in the most prominent and active assets, while the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) has relinquished its early gains, signaling relative weakness in the broader alternative coin market. According to analysts, the increase in bitcoin's price can be attributed to safe-haven demand following the U.S. action in Venezuela and the exhaustion of tax-related selling. Data from Deribit reveals renewed demand from traders for bullish option bets, primarily the $100,000 strike call. Laser Digital informed CoinDesk via email, "We observed ETF inflows on January 2nd after consecutive outflows in December and 3000x lots of Jan-end BTC calls were executed on the last day of December." Over the weekend, the U.S. launched an attack on Venezuela, resulting in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro. This has sparked speculation on crypto social media that Venezuela might be in control of a shadow BTC reserve worth over $60 billion, potentially comparable to that of bitcoin treasury company Strategy (MSTR), which holds BTC valued at over $62 billion. However, these claims remain unverified. If the claims are true, the U.S. might seize the coins and add them to its strategic BTC reserve. QCP Capital stated in a market note on Monday, "The possibility of the U.S. adding any seized BTC to its strategic reserve reduces the likelihood of forced selling and highlights BTC's growing strategic importance as nations compete to accumulate." Another trending narrative suggests that President Donald Trump may soon tap into Venezuela's 300 billion barrels of oil reserves, increasing supply and potentially leading to a crash in oil prices. This, in turn, could enable the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more rapidly. However, having reserves and producing them are two distinct things. Several analysts noted that Venezuelan crude from the Orinoco Belt is heavy, impure sour crude, making extraction and refinement difficult and expensive, requiring substantial investments. This means the reserves may not be tapped into in the near future, limiting their impact on oil prices. In other words, the anticipated disinflationary impulse by BTC bulls may not materialize soon. In other significant news, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that the network has effectively solved the blockchain scalability trilemma, achieving a balance between decentralization, security, and high transaction speed, thanks to key upgrades like zkEVMs and PeerDAS. In traditional markets, the dollar index has risen for the fourth consecutive trading day, surpassing 98.50. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 traded higher. This week, the macroeconomy will see a series of key U.S. data releases, starting with the ISM Manufacturing PMI later today, followed by the non-manufacturing PMI, the ADP Employment report, and nonfarm payrolls data in the days ahead. Stay alert! Read more: For an analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today. What to Watch: Token Events Conferences Market Movements Bitcoin Stats Technical Analysis Crypto Equities Crypto Treasury Companies ETF Flows Spot BTC ETFs Spot ETH ETFs Source: Farside Investors While You Were Sleeping