US officials are scrutinizing potential assets linked to the Nicolás Maduro regime in Venezuela, with digital assets among the areas under review, according to Patrick Witt, Executive Director of the President’s Council of Advisors for Digital Assets.
Witt told CoinDesk in a recent interview that the situation is still developing and multiple national security teams are engaged. He declined to provide specifics on any actions taken so far.
“Folks are talking, they’re looking at the situation overall, how the Maduro regime was financed, and where some of those assets, whether it’s on the oil side, actual physical commodities, or digital assets may be,” Witt said.
“I can’t comment on anything there as of now, but there’s a number of folks in the national security apparatus engaged and looking into that,” he added.
The investigation follows Maduro’s capture earlier this year, which has sparked widespread speculation about potential crypto holdings tied to the regime.
Whale Hunting, a newsletter and podcast from Project Brazen that explores the hidden worlds of money and power, has suggested that Venezuela’s government under Maduro may have secretly amassed a vast Bitcoin hoard, potentially worth as much as $60 billion.
The alleged stash is said to have been built through schemes involving gold sales, oil-for-crypto transactions, and the seizure of domestic mining operations, with Maduro ally Alex Saab reportedly playing a central role in accessing and managing the assets.
However, publicly available data paint a very different picture. According to BitcoinTreasuries.NET, Venezuela is listed among government Bitcoin holders, but with just around 240 BTC, valued at about $21 million.
Major blockchain analytics firms, including Nansen and Chainalysis, have expressed skepticism about reports of large-scale state holdings, pointing to a lack of on-chain evidence to support the existence of such a massive reserve.
