US May Acquire Enormous Bitcoin Holdings if Venezuela's Alleged $60 Billion Reserve Proves True

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless otherwise specified) The new year has begun on a positive note for cryptocurrency: Bitcoin is trading near $92,700, having risen by 1.3% in 24 hours and 5% in the first five days of 2026. Major alternative cryptocurrencies such as XRP, SOL, BNB, and ETH have seen increases of 1%-3% over the past 24 hours, 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 by 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 cryptocurrency market. Analysts attribute the increase in bitcoin's price to safe-haven demand following the US action in Venezuela and the exhaustion of tax-related selling. Deribit data 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, following consecutive outflows in December, and 3000x lots of Jan-end BTC calls were executed on the last day of December." Over the weekend, the US attacked Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro, sparking speculation on crypto social media that Venezuela might be controlling a massive $60 billion shadow BTC reserve, potentially comparable to that of bitcoin treasury company MicroStrategy (MSTR), which holds BTC worth over $62 billion. However, these claims remain unverified. If true, the US might seize these coins and add them to its strategic BTC reserve. QCP Capital stated in a market note on Monday, "The prospect of the US adding any seized BTC to its own 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 allow the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more rapidly. However, having reserves and producing them are two different things. Several analysts noted that Venezuelan crude from the Orinoco Belt is heavy, impure sour crude, making it difficult and expensive to extract and refine, requiring significant investments. This means the reserves may not be produced 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 key news, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin stated that the network has effectively solved the blockchain scalability trilemma, balancing decentralization, security, and high transaction speed, with the help of key upgrades like zkEVMs and PeerDAS. In traditional markets, the dollar index rose for the fourth consecutive trading day, surpassing 98.50. Futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 traded higher. This week, we have a series of key US 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 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