When Bitcoin was launched in 2009, many investors dismissed this new digital asset as an outlandish idea, or even a scam.
Charlie Munger, former partner of Berkshire Hathaway legend Warren Buffett, once described Bitcoin as “stupid and bad.” However, in recent years, the cryptocurrency has multiplied in value and become central to global finance. US President Donald Trump’s signing of an executive order last January establishing a strategic Bitcoin reserve and his description of Bitcoin as “digital gold” is one of the strongest indicators of this transformation.
Now, there are claims that Venezuela may have also jumped on the “digital gold” bandwagon. A research paper published on Saturday by the digital publication Project Brazen suggested that Venezuela may possess a hidden Bitcoin reserve worth approximately $60 billion.
According to the report, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, who was abducted by the US, and his inner circle allegedly accumulated Bitcoin through three main channels: gold swaps allegedly conducted by Interior Minister Alex Saab in 2018, the pricing of oil revenues in Bitcoin, and the confiscation of cryptocurrency mining equipment from miners in the country. Experts argue that sanctions that have restricted Venezuela’s access to international financial markets for years may have driven its leaders towards cryptocurrencies.
In contrast, Bitcointreasuries data shows Venezuela possessing only 240 BTC, or approximately $22 million. This figure is largely based on a 2022 Forbes article and research by a blockchain analytics company. The same site states that the US government holds a portfolio of 328,372 BTC, worth approximately $30 billion. The $60 billion claim for Venezuela presents an extremely extreme picture when compared to publicly available records.
One of the most notable figures among the skeptics is Mauricio di Bartolomeo, co-founder of Ledn. Di Bartolomeo, who grew up in Venezuela and whose family has been involved in cryptocurrency mining in the country since 2014, says he doesn’t believe in any of the three sources of income. “It doesn’t match anything in the public records,” Di Bartolomeo stated. “There’s so much corruption, embezzlement, and missing money in Venezuela that I don’t believe a significant amount could have accumulated.”
The entrepreneur, sharing his views, explained that his family’s mining equipment was confiscated by the government in 2018 and returned five years later in a worn-out condition, indicating that the equipment had been heavily used.
On the other hand, Bartolomeo notes that the use of stablecoins is rapidly increasing in Venezuela due to hyperinflation. Many Venezuelans are sending remittances to their families via stablecoins because they offer a more advantageous exchange rate compared to cash.
Determining the actual amount of crypto assets held by the Venezuelan government is nearly impossible due to its decentralized and privacy-focused nature. If the claims prove true, this is seen as a development of such magnitude that it could shift the balance in global Bitcoin markets. For now, however, mainstream analysts and industry representatives continue to approach the $60 billion “shadow reserve” narrative cautiously and with distance.
*This is not investment advice.
