What Venezuela tells us about Bitcoin’s strategic role

The recent US military intervention and capture of Nicolás Maduro have triggered immediate, yet diverging, ripples across global markets. At its core, the episode highlights a growing contrast between assets shaped by policy control, such as energy, and assets that increasingly benefit from geopolitical fragmentation, most notably Bitcoin.

Beyond its foreign policy dimension, market participants are also interpreting the event through a domestic macro lens, particularly the role of energy supply as a key lever for US inflation management and, by extension, monetary policy flexibility. At the same time, the episode has drawn attention to a broader structural realignment in which asset allocators increasingly consider Bitcoin as a neutral, international and non-sovereign hedge against inflation and currency debasement. 

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Energy markets: Forward supply repricing and inflation dynamics

Energy markets price expectations rather than immediate changes in physical production. In that context, signals pointing to expanded US influence over Venezuelan oil supply have led markets to reprice the medium- to long-term supply outlook, placing downward pressure on crude prices even in the absence of near-term output increases.

• US benchmark crude: Declined to approximately $58 per barrel¹, down from December highs, as markets adjusted expectations for future supply optionality.
  
  
• Brent crude: Fell to around $62 per barrel², reflecting similar forward-looking dynamics in global benchmarks.

In the US, from a domestic macro perspective, energy plays a critical role in the growing AI industry and inflation dynamics, both directly through headline CPI and indirectly via transportation and production costs. Broader perceived control over future energy supply can help dampen inflation volatility, providing the Federal Reserve with greater flexibility on interest rate policy throughout the year. In this sense, the market reaction appears less geopolitical and more consistent with a rational repricing of inflation risk.

Expanded US influence over Venezuelan supply also has strategic implications for global producers. Even the expectation of future supply expansion can compress margins for higher-cost or geopolitically constrained producers, most notably Russia, by placing an effective ceiling on oil prices. This dynamic indirectly pressures fiscal revenues in energy-dependent states whose budgets rely heavily on sustained high commodity prices.

Additionally, greater US influence over key energy supply nodes may complicate de-dollarization efforts among producer nations. Reduced commodity pricing power limits the ability of exporters to shift trade settlement away from the US dollar on favorable terms, reinforcing the dollar’s role in global energy markets even amid broader efforts to diversify payment systems.

That said, while the long-term potential of Venezuela’s estimated $17 trillion oil industry³ is substantial, the path to realization remains complex. Analysts estimate that restoring the country to its former production capacity would require over $100 billion in investment and close to a decade of infrastructure rebuilding⁴, highlighting the gap between market expectations and near-term physical supply. While oil prices respond to expectations of future supply shaped by state influence and policy coordination, the reaction in digital assets reflects a fundamentally different dynamic –one driven less by control and more by neutrality in an increasingly fragmented global system.

Digital assets: Sovereign strategic reserves and neutrality

While energy markets tend to respond directly to signals of state intervention and control, Bitcoin’s appeal in the current environment appears rooted in the opposite dynamic: its resistance to unilateral control and its perceived neutrality as a store-of-wealth asset. Against this backdrop, Bitcoin has demonstrated notable resilience, up ~7% YTD⁵, holding above $94,000 and repeatedly testing the $95,000 resistance level despite heightened geopolitical uncertainty.

Market attention has also been drawn to reports currently unconfirmed but circulated by multiple media outlets suggesting the seizure of a previously undisclosed Venezuelan Bitcoin stockpile. Some estimates place the size of this reserve at up to 600,000 BTC (approximately $60 billion)⁶. While the existence and scale of such holdings remain speculative, the narrative itself has influenced market positioning by reinforcing the idea of Bitcoin as a sovereign-relevant asset class.

• Total crypto market capitalization: The broader digital asset market reflected this shift in sentiment, with total market capitalization rising roughly 5%, from $3.04 trillion to $3.20 trillion⁷, and more than half of the top 100 tokens recording double-digit gains.
  
  
• Strategic Bitcoin Reserve (SBR) implications: Were such assets to be verified and ultimately integrated into the USStrategic Bitcoin Reserve, it would materially alter the sovereign ownership landscape. At the upper end of estimates, this would more than double current US Bitcoin holdings (approximately 328,000 BTC, or $30 billion)⁸, positioning the US among the largest known holders globally – alongside early accumulators such as Satoshi Nakamoto (estimated 1.069 million BTC)⁹. While speculative, this scenario underscores how Bitcoin is increasingly discussed in the context of strategic reserves.

Ecosystem sentiment further reflected this optimism, particularly in assets perceived to be politically adjacent to the current administration. President Trump-related tokens such as WLFI and TRUMP advanced approximately 16%¹⁰ and 7.5%¹¹, respectively, with TRUMP re-entering the top 100 digital assets by market capitalization. This divergence between policy-shaped assets and neutral digital networks becomes even more pronounced as geopolitical fragmentation accelerates and monetary systems grow increasingly weaponized.

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Geopolitical tailwinds: De-dollarization and strategic tools

The intervention has drawn explicit opposition from the BRICS-Plus forum, with Brazil, Russia, and China condemning the move as “hegemonic behavior.” This escalating friction reinforces de-dollarization pressures, as nations seek alternatives to the US dollar to mitigate exposure to sanctions and reserve seizures. 

• Weaponizing reserves: These dynamics were catalyzed by the 2022 seizure of approximately $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets¹², primarily held in Europe, following the invasion of Ukraine. The episode accelerated efforts among BRICS nations to diversify away from G7 currencies and explore non-Western payment and settlement systems, including initiatives such as BRICS Pay.
  
  
• Crypto as a foreign policy tool: In November 2020, the US government established a notable precedent by leveraging the stablecoin USDC to distribute pandemic aid to over 60,000 Venezuelan healthcare workers¹³. By coordinating with Circle and Airtm, US authorities facilitated the release of seized assets to the interim Guaidó government, which were converted into USDC to bypass Maduro’s financial controls and Venezuela’s hyperinflation. In contrast to energy markets where supply can be constrained or redirected through state control, digital assets operate outside traditional financial and logistical chokepoints, reinforcing their utility for both sanctioning and sanctioned actors.
• Neutral safe-haven: While gold and silver surged in H2 2025, Bitcoin’s relative resilience during this episode reinforces its emerging role as a geopolitical “neutral” reserve for actors operating within an increasingly polarized global economy.

Crypto usage remains exceptionally high in regions with systemic instability; for instance, Turkey leads global adoption with 25.6%¹⁴ of its internet population owning digital assets, while in Iran, the share of users employing crypto recently rose to 46%¹⁵ as a tool used to hedge against high inflation in the country. In Venezuela, nearly 92.5%¹⁶ of crypto activity is driven by a critical need for remittances and stablecoin-based value preservation.

Traders on Polymarket, the world’s largest prediction market, are currently pricing a 30% probability¹⁷ of the Iranian government collapsing before the end of 2026. This reflects heightened global instability and further underscores the demand for non-fiat, "neutral" assets like Bitcoin as a hedge against catastrophic geopolitical risk.

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Will we see a historical rebound this year?

The contrast between assets shaped by policy control and those that benefit from geopolitical and monetary fragmentation has implications not only for near-term market behavior, but also for forward-looking returns. In an environment defined by inflation sensitivity, reserve weaponization, and fractured trade systems, Bitcoin increasingly trades less like a speculative asset and more like a strategic hedge.

• 2026 momentum: Although Bitcoin finished 2025 down by approximately 6%¹⁸, the outlook for 2026 appears structurally constructive. Bitcoin is already up by more than 7% in the first five days of the year¹⁹, suggesting early momentum as macro uncertainty and geopolitical fragmentation remain elevated.
  
  
• Historical recurrence (conditional): In Bitcoin’s 15-year trading history, it has never recorded two consecutive down years. Historical patterns are inherently conditional on the prevailing macro environment. However, the current backdrop, marked by increased geopolitical fragmentation, the weaponization of currency and reserves, and heightened sensitivity to inflation dynamics, arguably strengthens the relevance of this historical analogy rather than weakens it.
  
  
• Performance rotation: Historically, periods in which crypto ranks among the worst-performing asset classes have often been followed by outsized relative performance in subsequent years. This rotation has been observed in cycles such as 2014–2015, 2018–2019, and 2022–2023, where shifts in macro and liquidity conditions preceded strong recoveries.

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Footnotes: 

1. U.S. Energy Information Administration. (2026). Weekly petroleum status report. https://www.eia.gov/petroleum/weekly/
2. Bloomberg. (2026). Energy markets. https://www.bloomberg.com/energy
3. BP. (2025). Energy economics. https://www.bp.com/en/global/corporate/energy-economics.html
4. Bloomberg News. (2026, January 5). Trump’s Venezuela oil revival plan is a $100 billion gamble. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-01-05/trump-s-venezuela-oil-revival-plan-is-a-100-billion-gamble
5. CoinGecko. (2026). Bitcoin (BTC). https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin
6. The Defiant. (2026). Investors eye Venezuela’s Bitcoin stash following Maduro’s capture. https://thedefiant.io/news/markets/investors-eye-venezuela-s-bitcoin-stash-following-maduro-s-capture
7. CoinGecko. (2026). Cryptocurrency charts. https://www.coingecko.com/en/charts
8. Arkham Intelligence. (2026). United States government wallet explorer. https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/entity/usg
9. Arkham Intelligence. (2026). Satoshi Nakamoto wallet explorer. https://intel.arkm.com/explorer/entity/satoshi-nakamoto
10. CoinGecko. (2026). World Liberty Financial (WLFI). https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/world-liberty-financial
11. CoinGecko. (2026). Official Trump (TRUMP). https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/official-trump
12. Reuters. (2025, December 11). How might Russia react to any EU decision to use its frozen assets for Ukraine? https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/how-might-russia-react-any-eu-decision-use-its-frozen-assets-ukraine-2025-12-11/
13. Circle. (2020). Circle partners with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Airtm to deliver aid using USDC. https://www.circle.com/blog/circle-partners-with-bolivarian-republic-of-venezuela-and-airtm-to-deliver-aid-to-venezuelans-using-usdc
14. Circle. (2020). Circle partners with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Airtm to deliver aid using USDC. https://www.circle.com/blog/circle-partners-with-bolivarian-republic-of-venezuela-and-airtm-to-deliver-aid-to-venezuelans-using-usdc
15. Chainalysis. (2025). The 2025 geography of cryptocurrency report. https://go.chainalysis.com/2025-geography-of-cryptocurrency-report.html
16. Chainalysis. (2025). The 2025 geography of cryptocurrency report. https://go.chainalysis.com/2025-geography-of-cryptocurrency-report.html
17. Polymarket. (2026). Will the Iranian regime fall by the end of 2026? https://polymarket.com/event/will-the-iranian-regime-fall-by-the-end-of-2026/will-the-iranian-regime-fall-by-the-end-of-2026
18. CoinGecko. (2026). Bitcoin (BTC). https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin
19. CoinGecko. (2026). Bitcoin (BTC). https://www.coingecko.com/en/coins/bitcoin