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

By Omkar Godbole (All times are in Eastern Time unless otherwise specified) As we begin 2026, the crypto market is experiencing a positive trend: Bitcoin is trading near $92,700, with a 1.3% increase over the past 24 hours and a 5% gain in the first five days of the year. Major alternative cryptocurrencies such as XRP, SOL, BNB, and ETH have seen increases of 1%-3% over the past 24 hours, with XRP rising by 2.49%, SOL by 1.27%, BNB by 0.54%, and ETH by 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 rise in bitcoin's price to safe-haven demand following the US action in Venezuela and the exhaustion of tax-related selling. According to data from Deribit, there is renewed demand from traders for bullish option bets, primarily the $100,000 strike call. Laser Digital stated in an email to CoinDesk, "We observed ETF inflows on January 2nd, following consecutive outflows in December, and 3000x lots of January-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 $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 might seize these coins and add them to its strategic bitcoin reserve. QCP Capital noted 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 is that President Donald Trump may soon access Venezuela's 300 billion barrels of oil reserves, which could lead to an increase in supply and potentially cause oil prices to plummet, allowing the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates more quickly. However, having reserves and actually producing them are two different things. Several analysts pointed out that the Venezuelan crude from the Orinoco Belt is heavy, impure sour crude, making it challenging and expensive to extract and refine, requiring substantial investments. As a result, the reserves may not be tapped into in the near future, limiting their impact on oil prices. In other words, the disinflationary impulse anticipated 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 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 alternative cryptocurrencies 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