Venezuela’s sudden political upheaval has quickly evolved from a geopolitical shock into a complex financial and intelligence puzzle, as governments, markets and investigators turn their attention to the fate of a vast and opaque pool of digital assets allegedly accumulated by the former administration to circumvent international sanctions.
Chinese state media reported that in the early hours of Saturday, U.S. forces launched a large-scale military operation in Venezuela that resulted in the detention of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, who were flown out of the country.
U.S. President Donald Trump later confirmed the operation from his Mar-a-Lago residence, saying Washington would “administer” Venezuela during a transitional period and that major U.S. oil companies would invest billions of dollars to restore the country’s energy sector and broader infrastructure.
As diplomatic and political reactions continue to unfold, focus has shifted rapidly to what financial intelligence officials describe as a shadow financial system — a network of gold, oil and cryptocurrency transactions designed to preserve state wealth beyond the reach of sanctions. Built over several years, the system allegedly converted physical resources into digital assets, primarily bitcoin and stablecoins such as Tether’s USDT.
With the collapse of the Maduro government’s inner circle, the question of who controls the cryptographic keys to these wallets has become central. For Washington and its allies, control over the assets is not merely a financial issue but also a legal and strategic one, tied to sanctions enforcement, asset recovery and potential reconstruction funding.
Estimates of the size of Venezuela’s hidden crypto holdings vary widely, but some investigators and market analysts place the figure as high as $60 billion. While blockchain data has not conclusively verified that number, the assumptions behind it have drawn serious attention in financial and intelligence circles.
The accumulation is believed to have begun around 2018, when Venezuela exported large volumes of gold amid deepening economic distress and tightening sanctions. Official trade data show the country exported more than 70 tonnes of gold that year, valued at roughly $2.7 billion at the time. People familiar with the financial flows say a portion of those proceeds was converted into bitcoin when prices were far below current levels.
If even part of those funds were converted into bitcoin at prices between $3,000 and $10,000 and held through the 2021 peak near $69,000, the resulting gains would have been substantial. Combined with subsequent conversion of oil revenues into stablecoins, the total could plausibly reach exceptional levels over several years.
If confirmed, Venezuela’s digital holdings would rival those of the world’s largest corporate bitcoin holders and exceed the publicly disclosed crypto reserves of countries such as El Salvador.
Stablecoins and the oil trade
While bitcoin functioned as a store of value, stablecoins played a more immediate transactional role. As sanctions increasingly restricted access to global banking channels, Venezuela’s state oil company began requiring some intermediaries to settle crude exports in USDT rather than dollars.
People familiar with the arrangements say that by late 2025 a significant share — possibly a majority — of oil revenues was being received in stablecoins. This allowed payments to move quickly across borders without passing through traditional financial institutions, reducing exposure to monitoring, freezing or seizure.
Although stablecoin issuers have frozen some wallets linked to sanctioned actors, investigators believe these represent only a fraction of the broader network, much of which remains concealed behind technical and legal obfuscation.
Multiple sources with knowledge of the process describe a multi-stage pipeline spanning several jurisdictions.
Gold mined in Venezuela was shipped to refining and trading hubs in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, where it was sold into international markets. Rather than being repatriated through official financial channels, the proceeds were routed through over-the-counter crypto brokers and converted into bitcoin or stablecoins.
To further obscure the trail, funds were passed through mixing services designed to break the link between origin and destination, and were ultimately stored in cold wallets — offline storage devices considered highly secure and difficult to access without physical possession and cryptographic keys.
Couriers and intermediaries were essential to the system’s operation. One figure frequently cited in media reports is David Nicolas Rubio Gonzalez, who allegedly coordinated elements of the gold transport network. Although he was sanctioned by the U.S. Treasury in 2019, he has not been criminally charged, prompting speculation about whether he cooperated with authorities or retained intelligence value.
The role of Alex Saab
At the centre of the system is Alex Saab, a businessman long associated with Venezuelan international trade. He was appointed in 2024 to oversee international investment and is widely viewed as the architect of the shadow financial structure.
Former Venezuelan prosecutor Zair Mundaray has described Saab as a trusted custodian of the assets, chosen in part because he lacked deep ties to traditional political factions. Court filings and media reports suggest Saab has had a complicated relationship with U.S. law enforcement, including periods of cooperation, adding to uncertainty over his current role.
Sources say control of the wallets is unlikely to rest with any single individual. Instead, it may be governed by a multi-signature system, possibly designed by legal advisers in Europe, requiring multiple key holders in different jurisdictions to authorise any transaction.
The fate of Venezuela’s digital assets now lies at the intersection of law, finance and geopolitics. For the U.S. and its allies, recovering or immobilising the funds could serve both as a sanction enforcement measure and as a potential source of financing for future reconstruction.
For the crypto industry, the episode underscores how state actors can use decentralised systems to bypass restrictions — and how difficult it may be for governments to regain control once assets move beyond the traditional financial system.
It is also likely to intensify debate over regulation of cryptocurrencies, stablecoins and mixing services, particularly their role in sanctions evasion and illicit finance.
In conventional markets, the immediate impact has been limited. Although Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, its current production is modest — about 1 million barrels per day — constraining its influence on global supply and prices.
Gold markets have also remained relatively stable, as Venezuela’s output is small in global terms. Over the longer term, investors are watching whether U.S. companies can restore Venezuelan production and how that might reshape regional energy flows.
For now, however, the greatest uncertainty lies not in oil fields or gold mines, but in encrypted files and hardware wallets — a digital fortune whose ownership remains unclear and whose fate may shape future thinking about sanctions, sovereign assets and the role of cryptocurrencies in global finance.
