Analysis: Claims of Venezuelan Government Secretly Holding Massive Bitcoin Reserves Lack On-Chain Evidence

Odaily According to recent market rumors suggesting that "the Venezuelan government may secretly hold Bitcoin worth tens of billions of dollars," analysis points out that this claim is largely based on speculation and second-hand information. Currently, there is a lack of credible on-chain evidence directly linking the relevant funds to wallets controlled at the Venezuelan national level.

Related skepticism primarily focuses on three potential sources: Bitcoin acquired from the sale of gold in 2018, oil revenue settled in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrencies, and Bitcoin mining equipment confiscated by the government. The analysis suggests that while some of Venezuela's oil transactions have been settled in crypto assets and there have indeed been instances of mining equipment being confiscated by the government, there is no reliable evidence indicating that the proceeds from the 2018 gold sale were converted into Bitcoin on a large scale.

Furthermore, the analysis notes that Venezuela's long-standing systemic corruption makes it more likely that any crypto asset-related profits would be siphoned off by individuals rather than entering the official national reserve system. Citing cases involving the state oil company and regulatory bodies as examples, massive amounts of funds have been misappropriated over the past years without being reflected in official reserve data.

Regarding mining, the viewpoint holds that aging power infrastructure, persistent electricity rationing, and the government's insufficient management capabilities for complex operations make it difficult to stably run large-scale Bitcoin mining operations. Overall, there is currently insufficient basis to support the judgment that the Venezuelan government holds a large-scale "secret Bitcoin reserve." The related claims remain at the stage of speculation. (CoinDesk)