Venezuela's Bitcoin Holdings and Strategic Moves in National Reserve Assets

According to PANews, Venezuela has been holding 240 Bitcoins since December 31, 2022, valued at approximately $22.33 million. In May 2024, the Venezuelan government banned Bitcoin mining citing energy load and power stability concerns. In September 2024, opposition leader María Corina Machado proposed incorporating Bitcoin into the national reserve assets. Meanwhile, the government-led digital currency 'Petro' ceased circulation in January 2024. Analysts have speculated that since 2018, Venezuela has been converting assets into Bitcoin through gold exchanges and settling oil transactions with USDT. It is estimated that the country holds around 600,000 BTC, valued between $56 billion and $67 billion. Some sources suggest that in 2018, approximately $2 billion worth of gold was used to purchase around 400,000 BTC at an average price of $5,000, which would be valued at about $3.6 billion at current prices. This holding size is comparable to those of MicroStrategy and BlackRock. If the U.S. Department of Justice were to seize and freeze these assets long-term, it could lead to supply constraints and short-term volatility, with a rapid liquidation being unlikely.