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Following Nicolás Maduro’s ouster, attention has turned to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s potential return, and with her, the prospects for Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) in the oil-rich nation.
Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela, is a known Bitcoin advocate.
In a 2024 interview, she described the apex cryptocurrency as a “lifeline” for Venezuelans during periods of hyperinflation.
Machado envisioned Bitcoin as part of national reserves in a “new” Venezuela.
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Venezuela has a long history of cryptocurrency usage amid hyperinflation, both by citizens seeking monetary stability and the government relying on Tether (CRYPTO: USDT) and Bitcoin to bypass sanctions.
The country recorded nearly $45 billion in cryptocurrency transaction volumes for the period between July 2024 and June 2025, according to blockchain analytics firm Chainalysis. It also stood above countries such as Japan and Argentina in Chainalysis’ 2025 Global Crypto Adoption Index.
Some reports suggest that Venezuela may already be sitting on a huge Bitcoin pile.
Multimedia publication Project Brazen stated that the country could hold as much as $60 billion in BTC, citing sources familiar with the matter.
A conservative estimate by Bitcointreasuries.net, a widely used source for data on Bitcoin treasury firms, pegs Venezuela’s holdings at 240 BTC, worth $22 million, as of this writing.
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Interestingly, CNBC speculated that the U.S. potentially seizing Venezuela’s BTC reserves and adding it to its own Strategic Bitcoin Reserve could act as a “bull case” for the market. The legality of such a move, however, is debatable.
The other aspect to ponder is whether Machado can assume power anytime soon, given that Venezuela is still led by Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Eloína Rodríguez.
Bettors on Polymarket barely see any chance of the U.S. recognizing Machado as the leader of Venezuela. She, however, vowed to return to her country in a recent interview with Fox News.
Photo Courtesy: Jonathan Mishkin on Shutterstock.com
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This article Nobel Laureate Maria Machado Envisioned A Bitcoin National Reserve For 'New' Venezuela – But Bettors Doubt She'd Be Taking Over Caracas Anytime Soon originally appeared on Benzinga.com
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