Potential US Acquisition of Venezuela's Alleged $60 Billion Bitcoin Reserve Sparks Interest

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless indicated otherwise) The new year has begun on a positive note for crypto, with Bitcoin currently trading near $92,700, marking a 1.3% increase over the past 24 hours and a 5% rise in the first five days of the year. Other major altcoins, including XRP, SOL, BNB, and ETH, have seen gains ranging from 1% to 3% over the past day, with XRP experiencing a 2.49% increase, SOL up 1.27%, BNB rising 0.54%, and ETH increasing by 0.99%. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has risen 1.25%, reflecting the strength of the largest and most active assets, while the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) has shed its early gains, indicating relative weakness in the broader altcoin market. According to analysts, the recent price surge of bitcoin can be attributed 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, particularly the $100,000 strike call. Laser Digital noted in an email to CoinDesk, "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 may be in control of a massive, unverified $60 billion shadow BTC reserve, potentially comparable to that of bitcoin treasury company MicroStrategy (MSTR), which holds BTC worth over $62 billion. If the claims are true, the US may seize these coins and add them to its strategic BTC reserve, which could reduce the likelihood of forced selling and highlight BTC's growing strategic importance as nations compete to accumulate. QCP Capital stated in a market note on Monday, "The prospect of the US adding any seized BTC to its strategic reserve underscores BTC's rising 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, potentially leading to a surge in supply and a subsequent drop in oil prices, allowing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more rapidly. However, analysts point out that having reserves and producing them are two different things, as Venezuelan crude from the Orinoco Belt is heavy, impure sour crude, making extraction and refinement difficult and expensive, requiring significant investments. As a result, the reserves may not be tapped into in the near future, limiting their impact on oil prices and delaying the anticipated disinflationary impulse that BTC bulls are hoping for. In other key news, Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin announced 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, while futures tied to the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 have traded higher. This week, a flurry of key US data releases is expected, 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. For more analysis of today's activity in altcoins and derivatives, see Crypto Markets Today. Key events to watch include token events, conferences, market movements, bitcoin stats, technical analysis, crypto equities, crypto treasury companies, ETF flows, spot BTC ETFs, and spot ETH ETFs. Source: Farside Investors While You Were Sleeping