U.S. SEC Chair Cites Possibility of Seizing Venezuela’s Bitcoin… “Actual Holdings Unverified”

The U.S. government could move to seize assets amid claims that Venezuela holds a large stash of Bitcoin.

According to Cointelegraph on the 13th (local time), Paul Atkins, chair of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), said in an interview with Fox Business the previous day, regarding reports that Venezuela holds up to $60 billion worth of Bitcoin, that “we’ll have to see what actions are taken.” He did not explicitly rule out the possibility that the United States could seize the Bitcoin.

At the same time, Atkins drew a line on the SEC’s direct role, saying, “That issue is for other people in the administration to handle, and I’m not involved.” Markets interpret the remarks as suggesting that whether to seize the assets could be determined by political and diplomatic considerations.

Speculation about Venezuela’s Bitcoin holdings spread after the U.S. government, acting on instructions from President Donald Trump, arrested Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and transferred him to the United States. Some reports raised the possibility that Venezuela holds around 600,000 BTC, but major blockchain analytics firms and information platforms said they were unable to verify that figure on-chain.

Meanwhile, Venezuela has previously pursued state-led experiments with virtual assets (cryptocurrencies). In 2018, it launched “Petro,” a digital currency backed by oil, fueling continued speculation about the regime’s potential use of virtual assets. However, whether the country holds Bitcoin—and the actual scale—remains uncertain.