Trump, Maduro, and... Bitcoin!

[Hispo]

I believe people are over-estimating the possible holdings of this country (Venezuela) when comes to Bitcoin.
The regime here used their mining power and some secret mining facilities in order to get Bitcoin and store it as part of the theft against the nation, but Venezuela does not have any figure close to 3 percent of the circulating supply of Bitcoin. It is quite unrealistic, at maximum we would only have some thousands of Bitcoins and those would be in private wallets controlled by corrupt politicians, they are not part of the national treasury.

[retreat]

It's likely that the news is not true as it's merely speculation and lacks any solid data to support it, just a personal assumption without strong evidence. Moreover, it is the American media that is narrating the news, it is most likely just BS. So we don't need to believe too much and overreact to such information.

[Osiokwudiri]

I don't think Trump and Maduro issues is linked Bitcoin. This is mere speculation. Although this is another way of making Bitcoin more popular and stronger. Trump and Maduro issues is basically on bridge of business terms.
Trump want dollar to be more stronger and want every nation to trade with there currency.

[dezoel]

600k Bitcoin owned by Venezuela is still a speculation. There's no confirmation regarding the existence of Venezuela Bitcoin. So i think there's no need to prepare for a special scenario . It's caused by even if it's real US will able to seize that 600k BTC, they will be putting it to their strategic reserve.

There's no need to feel panic.  I don't expect the dump to happen caused by they have not yet dumped their bitcoin that is still on their strategic reserve. So it will be also applicable to the new seized BTC as well

I am pretty sure it's fake, it's just some person who doesn't know a lick about bitcoin that made that news. The size of 600k bitcoins is HUGE and for some reason they think we wouldn't notice, if that existed then we would have known and tracked it already and it wouldn't be a guess. Believe me, there are no 600k bitcoins in either maduros wallets nor in the entire nation, it was just some rumour because of some ignorant person and then became bigger news because of it but it's not real.

[Witch hunting]

I don't think Trump and Maduro issues is linked Bitcoin. This is mere speculation. Although this is another way of making Bitcoin more popular and stronger. Trump and Maduro issues is basically on bridge of business terms.
Trump want dollar to be more stronger and want every nation to trade with there currency.

Yes. This is just speculation. It's possible that the person spreading the information simply made a claim that oil reserves would be worth the same if the price of BTC reached 1 million, equivalent to 600,000 BTC, for example.

If Venezuela were indeed hiding 600,000 BTC, they would have indirectly deceived many blockchain analysts who monitor large numbers, both buying and selling, and it certainly wouldn't have escaped their notice.

[danherbias07]

Do they really have that amount of Bitcoin vaulted somewhere in Venezuela? I doubt Maduro believes in cryptocurrencies. What they may find are load of cash that he had been stacking or maybe USD buried in his home. They might want to check it out.
Venezuela is not a rich country because of corruption and drugs. I think they mostly use cash to avoid being detected or having a receipt for everything they do. In a corrupted country that doesn't want anything to do with other countries, they will just use their own currency as a means of trade to avoid being questioned by the UN.

[DrBeer]

600k Bitcoin owned by Venezuela is still a speculation. There's no confirmation regarding the existence of Venezuela Bitcoin. So i think there's no need to prepare for a special scenario . It's caused by even if it's real US will able to seize that 600k BTC, they will be putting it to their strategic reserve.

There's no need to feel panic.  I don't expect the dump to happen caused by they have not yet dumped their bitcoin that is still on their strategic reserve. So it will be also applicable to the new seized BTC as well

I am pretty sure it's fake, it's just some person who doesn't know a lick about bitcoin that made that news. The size of 600k bitcoins is HUGE and for some reason they think we wouldn't notice, if that existed then we would have known and tracked it already and it wouldn't be a guess. Believe me, there are no 600k bitcoins in either maduros wallets nor in the entire nation, it was just some rumour because of some ignorant person and then became bigger news because of it but it's not real.

There is quite realistic information, including when it started, how it is being implemented, and why we do not see a wallet with 600,000 bitcoins:

"According to the report, Alex Saab controls massive cryptocurrency reserves on behalf of Nicolás Maduro's regime. The accumulation scheme began around 2018 through large-scale gold exports — in that year alone, Venezuela exported 73.2 tons of the precious metal worth about $2.7 billion.
The gold was converted into cryptocurrency through intermediaries in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The funds were then moved through mixers and cold wallets, which remain inaccessible to Western regulators."
 

[MusaPk]

Yes. This is just speculation. It's possible that the person spreading the information simply made a claim that oil reserves would be worth the same if the price of BTC reached 1 million, equivalent to 600,000 BTC, for example.

If Venezuela were indeed hiding 600,000 BTC, they would have indirectly deceived many blockchain analysts who monitor large numbers, both buying and selling, and it certainly wouldn't have escaped their notice.

USA is interested in oil reserves of Venezuela and their is no clue that US arrested their president for the sake of Bitcoins. This is also an indication that no matter how much natural resources you have, if you are not strong enough to defend yourself and the resources then somebody else will come and take it. If Venezuela had 600,000 BTC then it's more appropriate for USA to launch some sort of cyber attack to capture those Bitcoin rather then a physical assault. 

[WillyAp]

USA is interested in oil reserves of Venezuela and their is no clue that US arrested their president for the sake of Bitcoins. This is also an indication that no matter how much natural resources you have, if you are not strong enough to defend yourself and the resources then somebody else will come and take it. If Venezuela had 600,000 BTC then it's more appropriate for USA to launch some sort of cyber attack to capture those Bitcoin rather then a physical assault. 

Oil only, I doubt that. There is Gold, 8 of rare earths and a splendid place to extract and process those.
The US had facilities to process rare earth but with environmental concerns they were shut down.

[Uruhara]

If those 600,000 bitcoins are truly Venezuela's national asset reserves, then it's a little hard to understand. Why would the government collect so many bitcoins when its citizens are facing so many economic problems? Even when we look at the country's inflation data, I personally can't believe the inflation rate there, which is not in the hundreds or thousands of percent, but even higher than that.

However, is there any news confirming that it belongs to the state or is it actually owned by the president? It seems unclear at this point. But if those assets are indeed seized by the US, it would certainly shake the bitcoin market. Because 600,000 bitcoins is not a small amount. It is close to the bitcoin assets owned by Microstrategy.   

[Reatim]

I don't think Trump and Maduro issues is linked Bitcoin. This is mere speculation. Although this is another way of making Bitcoin more popular and stronger. Trump and Maduro issues is basically on bridge of business terms.
Trump want dollar to be more stronger and want every nation to trade with there currency.

we’re not even sure if venezuela actually has a secret crypto stash so this is just all rumors with no basis but if there is a secret crypto stash and usa gets access to it, it will attract a lot of global interest and laws might take in place

[Smack That Ace]

USA is interested in oil reserves of Venezuela and their is no clue that US arrested their president for the sake of Bitcoins. This is also an indication that no matter how much natural resources you have, if you are not strong enough to defend yourself and the resources then somebody else will come and take it. If Venezuela had 600,000 BTC then it's more appropriate for USA to launch some sort of cyber attack to capture those Bitcoin rather then a physical assault. 

Oil only, I doubt that. There is Gold, 8 of rare earths and a splendid place to extract and process those.
The US had facilities to process rare earth but with environmental concerns they were shut down.

Of course, once the US gains control of Venezuela, they will exploit all of the country's mineral resources, not just oil. But oil is the primary target because it is worth trillion of dollar and is a crucial weapon for the US in containing China's rise.

By taking over Venezuela, the US is becoming the superpower controlling large portion of the global oil supply. Meanwhile, China is heavily reliant on imported oil. This means that any disruption in oil supply will put significant pressure on China's economy. The US appears to be gaining the upper hand in containing China.

[Cryptomultiplier]

USA is interested in oil reserves of Venezuela and their is no clue that US arrested their president for the sake of Bitcoins. This is also an indication that no matter how much natural resources you have, if you are not strong enough to defend yourself and the resources then somebody else will come and take it. If Venezuela had 600,000 BTC then it's more appropriate for USA to launch some sort of cyber attack to capture those Bitcoin rather then a physical assault. 

Oil only, I doubt that. There is Gold, 8 of rare earths and a splendid place to extract and process those.
The US had facilities to process rare earth but with environmental concerns they were shut down.

Of course, once the US gains control of Venezuela, they will exploit all of the country's mineral resources, not just oil. But oil is the primary target because it is worth trillion of dollar and is a crucial weapon for the US in containing China's rise.

By taking over Venezuela, the US is becoming the superpower controlling large portion of the global oil supply. Meanwhile, China is heavily reliant on imported oil. This means that any disruption in oil supply will put significant pressure on China's economy. The US appears to be gaining the upper hand in containing China.

I think more than the oil Venezuela has, is the Bitcoin and crypto asset that the U S is after, just to hold in their own strategic reserve and remove that amount from the supply chain for decades to come.
This might just be a forced liquidation in right terms and another scenario is that the seized Bitcoin can be sold to pay off Venezuela's creditors and such a volume might pose a potential severe market crash for the Bitcoin market.

Only if the pass phrases is ever found because I believe the phrases aren't in the hands of one person because it might just be one of Venezuela's biggest secret to unmask yet.

[Ultegra134]

If those 600,000 bitcoins are truly Venezuela's national asset reserves, then it's a little hard to understand. Why would the government collect so many bitcoins when its citizens are facing so many economic problems? Even when we look at the country's inflation data, I personally can't believe the inflation rate there, which is not in the hundreds or thousands of percent, but even higher than that.

However, is there any news confirming that it belongs to the state or is it actually owned by the president? It seems unclear at this point. But if those assets are indeed seized by the US, it would certainly shake the bitcoin market. Because 600,000 bitcoins is not a small amount. It is close to the bitcoin assets owned by Microstrategy.   

Because Maduro couldn't care less about Venezuela's citizens. A country with such rich oil reserves, a president living such a luxurious life, while at the same time, the largest majority of Venezuelans are living in poverty conditions. 600,000 sound too much, that's an extravagant amount of money, but certainly not impossible. As the OP @DrBeer mentioned in his previous reply, it is claimed that accumulation started around 2018 after major gold exports, Bitcoin was a lot more affordable back then, so there's a decent chance this whole ordeal is in fact, true.

[Agbe]

After the arrest of the Venezuela president Maduro, there were some anticipations that, it was because of the Maduro arrest that made the price of bitcoin to come down. But I don't believe on those stories. Bitcoin price can be affected by international pandemic or demand and supply chain of the market and not because of the seizure of a country president or with his assets. USA as accepted new interim government in Venezuela and US is controlling the country through the new appointed government. And bitcoin is rising as gradual.

[dezoel]

We have seen what could happen already, and nothing changed. All of these "rumours" about insane amount of bitcoin that they seized and will use etc are just that, a rumour, nothing more. I get that you want to do better but that is not going to change anytime soon and you have to accept that.

If you can do that then you are going to move on and do a better job. Neither Maduro nor the nation had as much bitcoin as you think they did, because they didn't needed it, he was ruling a nation, why need bitcoin?

[Dunamisx]

"After Maduro's arrest, the US is considering confiscating Venezuela's secret crypto reserves.
We are talking about an underground storage facility with up to 600,000 bitcoins — that's about $60 billion obtained from the sale of oil, gold, and USDT in circumvention of sanctions.

If it were to be only by the arrest only made, I would have doubted on this action on bitcoin, but since it also involves some secrets discovery on how some of its secrets bitcoin investment, then I think it may probably had an impact on the market, but how this could happen or when remains a question that we may not have an accurate answer to, but so far so good, let's see where the arrest of the president leads and the latter end before any other consideration for now.

[AbuBhakar]

Because Maduro couldn't care less about Venezuela's citizens. A country with such rich oil reserves, a president living such a luxurious life, while at the same time, the largest majority of Venezuelans are living in poverty conditions. 600,000 sound too much, that's an extravagant amount of money, but certainly not impossible. As the OP @DrBeer mentioned in his previous reply, it is claimed that accumulation started around 2018 after major gold exports, Bitcoin was a lot more affordable back then, so there's a decent chance this whole ordeal is in fact, true.

I remember the peak of btc in 2018 was around 20000 USD per BTC, or almost 20000 USD. If that's where they have saved, they can really save a lot. But 600000 pcs seems hard to believe because the price was not very low back then. Maybe it was possible if they saved around 2015-2016, because that was the year when Bitcoin was very cheap. I also want to know how they found out the exact amount right away. It's their secret reserve. The US intel is very good at getting exact news right away. But I have doubts about the numbers given, and maybe they just said that to make their citizens angrier with their president, because the more people revolt, the more it will favor the US, and the faster it will control the country of Venezuela.

[Maus0728]

Wow, the impunity of the US government to invade Venezuela and get their spoils of war. The US is really paranoid about being surrounded by the enemies in the continent and I think right now, their paranoia just got confirmed because the Americas will be on guard against this attack. I don't believe that this is a big deal to bitcoin though, it's just that some people have associated the Trump administration to bitcoin so much that they think that every move made by Trump is going to have an effect on bitcoin, I believe that this is just people trying to predict something not really happening that's causing the movements in the bitcoin market.

[aylabadia05]

Questions for discussion:
- What scenarios do you anticipate?
- What impact will they have on the crypto market and Bitcoin?

A scenario that could weaken the economies of other countries, including my own. For me, from a political point of view, this action has violated Venezuela's sovereignty as an independent nation.

The market will be shaken, but not in the long term. Since this case has become a topic of discussion that is broadcast on almost every television channel in each country, this is where the elites in the crypto market have begun to waver. Economically, this is felt globally, but in my opinion, it does not have a significant impact on the Bitcoin market, which has caused market prices to fall. Until now, since Maduro was arrested, Bitcoin has remained stable.