How Venezuela Shows Why Bitcoin, Crypto and Stablecoins Help Everyday People
A $60 billion rumor dominates conversations in the crypto space in the fallout of Maduro’s capture. Is Venezuela a secret Bitcoin giant?
Posted January 13, 2026 at 7:21 am EST.
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Amid several years of economic challenges, Venezuela boasts a long and intriguing relationship with crypto. Following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by the U.S. government, these crypto ties have again been brought into focus.
In this Unchained podcast episode, Ledn cofounder Mauricio Di Bartolomeo and Economic Inclusion Group President Jorge Jraissati join Laura Shin to unpack this history, including the plausibility of the Latin American country sitting on a $60 billion Bitcoin stash.
Mauricio details how the hums of Bitcoin mining rigs became the sound of freedom for Venezuelans. Jorge says post-Maduro Venezuela will “demand” a crypto powered economy.
Will the crypto industry shape the future of Venezuela? And what does such a future look like?
