US May Acquire Enormous Bitcoin Holdings if Venezuela's Alleged $60 Billion Reserve is Confirmed

By Omkar Godbole (all times ET unless otherwise stated) 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 2026. Major alternative cryptocurrencies such as 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 rising by 1.27%, BNB up by 0.54%, and ETH increasing by 0.99%. The CoinDesk 20 Index (CD20) has risen by 1.25%, reflecting the strength of the largest and most active assets, while the CoinDesk 80 Index (CD80) has shed its initial gains, indicating relative weakness in the broader altcoin market. According to analysts, the recent price increase of bitcoin can be attributed to safe-haven demand following the US 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, following consecutive outflows in December, and 3000x lots of Jan-end BTC calls were traded on the last day of December." Over the weekend, the US launched an attack on Venezuela, capturing President Nicolás Maduro. Since then, speculation has emerged on crypto social media that Venezuela may be in control of a massive $60 billion shadow bitcoin reserve, potentially comparable to that of the bitcoin treasury company MicroStrategy (MSTR), which holds BTC worth over $62 billion. However, these claims remain unverified. If the rumors are true, the US may seize these coins and add them to its strategic BTC reserve. QCP Capital stated in a market note on Monday, "The possibility of the US 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, leading to a surge in supply. This could potentially cause oil prices to plummet, allowing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more rapidly. However, having reserves and actually producing them are two distinct things. Several analysts point out that Venezuelan crude from the Orinoco Belt is heavy, impure sour crude, making it difficult and expensive to extract and refine, requiring substantial investments. This implies that the reserves may not become available 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 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 rose 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 flurry 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