venezuela

The French newspaper "Le Monde" revealed that there has been new progress in the investigation of a cryptocurrency-related kidnapping case that occurred in 2023. French law enforcement discovered a transnational money laundering network involving multiple countries and cryptocurrency wallets while tracing the flow of a €1.7 million cryptocurrency ransom. The victim was the father of the well-known crypto influencer "TeufeurS." The kidnappers threatened the victim's family via text messages and demanded ransom payment in cryptocurrency. Ultimately, TeufeurS transferred a total of €1.7 million to the kidnappers' designated wallet in two installments, after which his father was released.The investigation showed that part of the ransom flowed into wallet accounts controlled by foreign nationals after multiple transfers. One transfer of $131,000 was successfully traced by the French gendarmerie, with leads ultimately pointing to a cryptocurrency wallet controlled by Venezuelan nationals. The case further revealed the complex chain of money laundering utilized by criminal organizations through cross-border cryptocurrency transfers, anonymous wallets, and overseas platforms. The report stated that this case is considered one of the significant examples of kidnapping and extortion cases in the European cryptocurrency industry and may serve as an early template for multiple kidnapping cases targeting cryptocurrency practitioners in France and Europe in 2025.

According to Bitcoin.com, the Venezuelan government has reiterated a nationwide ban on cryptocurrency mining to address the current energy crisis.The country's national power system peak demand reached 15,579 megawatts, a new high in nine years, with officials attributing this electricity peak to a persistent heatwave and national economic growth. The statement emphasized that "digital mining is absolutely prohibited nationwide," and violators will face legal sanctions. Authorities have developed a supervision plan to enforce this ban.

According to Cointelegraph, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has publicly stated that Colombia should follow the example of Venezuela and Paraguay by actively attracting Bitcoin mining investments, and pointed out that the undeveloped renewable energy along the Caribbean coast is a core advantage for promoting mining development.

According to Jinshi, the U.S. Treasury has issued a license authorizing specific activities involving gold of Venezuelan origin.

According to Jinshi News, Venezuela's state-owned mining company has signed a multi-million dollar agreement to sell up to 1,000 kilograms of gold, which will flow to the U.S. market.

According to market news, the cryptocurrency exchange Binance has recently implemented stricter risk controls for Venezuelan users using bank card payment channels.Official reports indicate that users purchasing cryptocurrencies with bank cards issued by Venezuelan banking institutions and virtual dollar cards issued in Panama (such as Zinli or Wally) are facing high rejection rates and operational restrictions. The main issues encountered by users include failure to receive verification codes, additional restrictions on virtual cards, and the complete disappearance of certain account payment options. This situation has led to a significant increase in customer service requests at Binance.Analysts point out that these restrictions are related to the current currency arbitrage phenomenon in Venezuela. Users purchase dollars at the official exchange rate and transfer them to international debit cards, then buy USDT on Binance, and subsequently sell it at a higher exchange rate through the peer-to-peer (P2P) market for profit.

According to Jinshi Data, Republican members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday voted down a resolution aimed at prohibiting President Trump from taking further military action against Venezuela without congressional authorization, with a tie vote of 215 to 215. A similar measure failed in the Senate a few days earlier.In the narrowly divided House, the voting results were largely along party lines. All Republicans, except for Don Bacon of Nebraska and Thomas Massie of Kentucky, voted against it. All Democrats voted in favor. This deadlocked vote reflects concerns in Congress (including among some Republicans) about Trump's foreign policy. An increasing number of people support the constitutional view that the power to send U.S. troops into combat should belong to Congress, not the President.

Trump stated in a speech that the leaker of the Venezuela incident has been captured and may face long-term imprisonment.In addition, Polymarket data shows that out of 3 insider address accounts related to Venezuela on Polymarket, 1 account is no longer viewable, with its last activity being 11 days ago.

According to Cointelegraph, when asked whether the U.S. would seize Bitcoin held by Venezuela, SEC Chairman Paul Atkins did not rule out the possibility.It has been reported that Venezuela holds Bitcoin worth up to $60 billion (approximately 600,000 coins), but several analysts have stated that they cannot verify this data. Atkins responded that what actions the U.S. would take if given the opportunity to seize these Bitcoins "remains to be seen," adding that he himself was not involved in the related decision-making. Previously, the U.S. military, under President Trump's directive, arrested Venezuelan President Maduro and transferred him to New York, where he faces criminal charges.

The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Paul Atkins, stated that it remains to be seen whether the U.S. will seize the Bitcoin assets allegedly held by Venezuela. In an interview with Fox Business, he responded that several blockchain analysts are currently unable to verify claims that Venezuela may hold up to $6 billion (approximately 60,000 BTC), and that any related actions will be decided by other government departments, with the SEC not involved.

On the evening of January 11, Eastern Time, Trump posted on social media, calling himself the "acting president of Venezuela."

According to a report by Jinshi citing the Global Times, Trump met with oil industry executives in the East Room of the White House to discuss the future control of Venezuela's energy industry by the United States.During the meeting, he wore a mini "Trump" pin beneath the traditional miniature American flag badge on his suit lapel. When a reporter asked about the origin of the accessory, Trump replied, "Someone gave me this. Do you know what this is? It's called 'Happy Trump'." The image of Trump on the pin is exaggeratedly enlarged, with an open mouth and a distinctly cartoonish style, leading many netizens to immediately point out its resemblance to a "wobble-head doll" version of Trump. Trump did not disclose the identity of the giver."I am never happy, never satisfied," Trump said while pulling open his suit lapel to look at the pin, then looking up at the reporters with a playful smile, "I will never be satisfied until we make America great again. But I have to tell you, we are quite close. This is called 'Happy Trump'."

According to The Wall Street Journal, Tether's role as the world's leading stablecoin has been influenced by Maduro, as Tether serves as an important tool for the Venezuelan state oil company (Petróleos de Venezuela, abbreviated as PdVSA) to evade sanctions, being used as a currency for oil trade settlements and providing an economic lifeline for Venezuelans suffering from the plummeting value of their national currency, the bolívar.A spokesperson for Tether responded that the company complies with all applicable U.S. and international sanctions regulations and works closely with U.S. authorities, including the Office of Foreign Assets Control, and regularly assists law enforcement in freezing addresses related to illegal activities or sanctions violations upon legitimate requests.

According to the Straits Times, U.S. President Trump claimed that his "own moral code" is the only constraint on his orders to take military action globally.Just days before making this statement, Trump launched a lightning strike to overthrow Venezuelan President Maduro and threatened to take action against numerous other countries, including Greenland.In an interview with The New York Times on Wednesday (January 7), Trump was asked if there are limits to his global power. He responded, "Yes, only one. That is my own moral code, my own thoughts. That is the only thing that can constrain me."He also stated, "I don't need international law, I have no intention of harming others."The Republican president then added, "I do indeed" need to comply with international law, but "it depends on what your definition of international law is."According to AFP, the United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC), which prosecutes war criminals, and has repeatedly rejected the rulings of the International Court of Justice (ICJ).

Regarding the recent market rumors that "the Venezuelan government may secretly hold Bitcoin worth hundreds of billions of dollars," analysts have pointed out that this claim is largely based on speculation and second-hand information, and currently lacks credible on-chain evidence that can directly link the relevant funds to wallets controlled at the national level by Venezuela.The related doubts mainly focus on three potential sources: the conversion of gold sold in 2018 into Bitcoin, oil revenues settled in Bitcoin or cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin mining equipment confiscated by the government. Analysts believe that while some oil transactions in Venezuela have indeed been settled in crypto assets, and there have been cases of mining equipment being confiscated by the government, there is no reliable evidence to indicate that the proceeds from the gold sales in 2018 were largely converted into Bitcoin.Furthermore, analysts point out that the long-standing systemic corruption in Venezuela makes it more likely that any crypto asset-related gains would be siphoned off by individuals rather than entering the official national reserve system. For example, in cases related to the national oil company and regulatory agencies, substantial funds have been misappropriated in recent years, yet this has not been reflected in the official reserve data.In terms of mining, the view is that aging power infrastructure, prolonged power outages, and the government's inadequate management capabilities in complex operations make it difficult to maintain stable large-scale Bitcoin mining operations. Overall, there is currently insufficient evidence to support the judgment that the Venezuelan government holds a large-scale "secret Bitcoin reserve," and related claims remain in the realm of speculation.

Kalshi CEO Tarek Mansour stated on LinkedIn that Kalshi supports legislation proposed by New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres, which aims to prohibit government officials from insider trading on platforms like Kalshi.Tarek Mansour also mentioned in the article that the recent allegations of insider trading primarily involve unregulated offshore platforms.Previously, it was reported that New York Democratic Congressman Ritchie Torres plans to introduce a bill this week called the "2026 Financial Prediction Markets Public Integrity Act." This bill would prohibit federally elected officials, politically appointed officials, and executive branch employees from trading on prediction markets while possessing non-public information related to trading, or when they might obtain such information through their positions.

The founder of Maelstrom, Arthur Hayes, pointed out in his latest article "Suavemente" that the United States' geopolitical actions to "arrest" Maduro and effectively control Venezuela's oil resources aim to lower oil prices and curb inflation, providing President Trump with ongoing space for loose monetary and fiscal expansion, thereby maintaining voter support in the midterm elections.He believes that in an environment of "money printing stimulus + controlled energy prices," the rise in nominal GDP will boost risk assets, especially inflation-resistant assets like Bitcoin. He explicitly stated that one should "go long on BTC and quality crypto assets" at present. Maelstrom is nearly fully invested heading into 2026 and is optimistic about the privacy narrative sector (such as ZEC) becoming the next main theme.