US May Acquire Massive Bitcoin Holdings If Rumors About Venezuela's $60 Billion Reserve Are Confirmed

By Omkar Godbole (All times ET unless stated otherwise) The new year has begun on a positive note for cryptocurrency, 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. Major alternative cryptocurrencies, including XRP, SOL, BNB, and ETH, have seen gains ranging from 1% to 3% over the past 24 hours, with XRP experiencing a 2.49% increase, SOL up 1.27%, BNB rising 0.54%, and ETH gaining 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 given up its early gains, indicating 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. According to data from Deribit, there has been renewed demand from traders for bullish option bets, primarily the $100,000 strike call. Laser Digital informed CoinDesk via email that "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 shadow Bitcoin reserve worth over $60 billion, 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 Bitcoin reserve. The prospect 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, according to QCP Capital in a market note on Monday. Another trending narrative suggests that President Donald Trump may soon tap into Venezuela's 300 billion barrels of oil reserves, which could lead to a surge in supply and 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 different things. Several analysts pointed out 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 that 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 key 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