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Bitcoin surges above $94,000 as Venezuela president Maduro pleads not guilty in US court
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Bitcoin is ripping through $94K, up nearly $6,000 since Friday, with over $200M in short liquidations, ETF inflows rising, and momentum flipping bullish as volatility brews.
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Big Oil has added $100B+ in market cap, as Trump hands Venezuela’s energy sector to U.S. firms; Chevron, Valero, and ConocoPhillips are leading the charge.
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China is threatening legal retaliation, scrambling to protect $4.8B in oil investments while denouncing the U.S. as a “global judge” and warning against interfering in Latin America.
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Maduro is in U.S. court calling himself president, Switzerland froze his assets, Palantir stock jumped 5%, and Trump says Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico could be next.
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Bitcoin is now stabilizing within the $80,000 to $95,000 range, with momentum starting to recover and sell-side pressure fading.
The Relative Strength Index (RSI) has bounced back into upper-neutral territory, signaling renewed upside buildup.
Spot volumes are rising modestly, while sell pressure is clearly retreating, but liquidity remains thin, and no signs of over-speculation have emerged yet.
In derivatives, positioning is returning gradually. Futures open interest is climbing, but long-side funding costs have eased, meaning leverage is moderate, not overheated.
Perpetual futures markets have flipped back to buy-side dominance, suggesting early accumulation is underway as directional confidence returns.
Options traders are nervous. Volatility spreads are breaking above historical bands, and open interest has dropped sharply, indicating a de-risking wave and rising expectations for near-term turbulence. The tone is clear: positioning is back, but conviction is cautious.
On the institutional side, U.S. spot Bitcoin ETF flows have flipped positive, with rising volumes and elevated MVRV ratios showing fresh demand. But that also means profit-taking risk from TradFi is climbing as positions go green.
On-chain metrics paint a mixed picture. More supply is back in profit, and realised losses are fading, suggesting improving sentiment. But realised capital growth is still negative, showing net capital outflows continue, and hot money is dominating the holder base, leaving Bitcoin vulnerable to volatility.
Nicolás Maduro appeared in U.S. District Court in Manhattan around noon ET alongside his wife, Cilia Flores, facing a sweeping indictment accusing him of running a narco-state from inside the Venezuelan government.
The 25-page federal filing labels Maduro as the “illegitimate ruler” of Venezuela, citing fraudulent elections and a long-running alliance with narco-traffickers and terrorist organizations.
Prosecutors say Maduro “leveraged government power to protect and promote illegal activity, including drug trafficking,” and accuse him of working with violent groups to ship tons of cocaine into the U.S. over several years.
The indictment claims this narcotics operation “lined the pockets of Venezuelan officials and their families” while empowering armed militants who operated freely on Venezuelan soil.
Maduro stood firm during the arraignment. “I’m a decent man. I’m still the president of my country,” he told Judge Alvin Hellerstein, denying all wrongdoing.
His wife, Flores, introduced herself in court as the “first lady of the Republic of Venezuela.” When asked how she pleaded, she responded: “Not guilty. Completely innocent.”
Switzerland has frozen all assets linked to Nicolás Maduro and his inner circle, following his arrest and transfer to the U.S., the Swiss government announced Monday.
The freeze is effective immediately and will remain in place for four years. The move is meant to block the outflow of potentially illicit assets stashed in Swiss banks.
The order does not apply to members of Venezuela’s new government, but it marks a rare escalation from a neutral country. Swiss officials said they will try to return any dirty money to benefit the Venezuelan people, depending on what’s uncovered.
The asset freeze applies under Switzerland’s rules for foreign politically exposed persons, and comes on top of existing sanctions from 2018. The government said the situation is still volatile, and it’s offering its role as a mediator if diplomacy becomes possible.
“The Federal Council wants to ensure that any illicitly acquired assets cannot be transferred out of Switzerland in the current situation,” the government said in its statement.
Bitcoin just surged above $94,000, climbing nearly $6,000 since Friday night as over $200 million in leveraged short positions were liquidated in a single day.
The breakout now puts $94,000 as the new line in the sand for crypto markets, with traders squeezing risk assets higher even as Fed policy remains in limbo.
Neel Kashkari, President of the Minneapolis Fed, said on Monday that the U.S. central bank may be close to ending its rate-cutting streak.
“My guess is we’re pretty close to neutral right now,” he said during a live interview, adding that policymakers are still weighing tight labor markets against stubborn inflation.
The Fed’s benchmark rate is currently 3.5%–3.75%, just about half a percentage point from the projected neutral zone. Kashkari’s comments matter more this year, he’s a voting member of the FOMC in 2026 and has previously criticized recent rate cuts, citing resilient growth and Trump’s inflationary tariffs.
“We kept thinking the economy would slow down. It hasn’t. That means monetary policy might not be putting that much downward pressure,” he said.
Markets are now watching for Wednesday’s ADP employment data and Friday’s full jobs report, which could change the Fed’s tone.
China has invested $4.8 billion in Venezuela over the last two decades, mostly through state-owned giants like China National Petroleum Corporation, according to U.S.-based Rhodium Group.
These investments, heavily concentrated in the energy sector during the post-2008 financial crisis and the final years of Hugo Chávez’s rule, are now directly at risk following Trump’s military takeover of Venezuela.
One of the latest Chinese bets was made just months ago. In August, China Concord Resources Corp. pledged over $1 billion into a new oil project targeting 60,000 barrels per day by end of 2026, per Reuters. Now, Beijing is in damage control mode.
Chinese Foreign Ministry officials said Monday they’ve received no reports of injured Chinese nationals in the U.S. operation, but Beijing is warning Washington not to interfere further.
Dong Shaopeng of Renmin University said protecting Chinese nationals and corporate interests is Beijing’s top priority. The government called the U.S. strike a “bullying action” and reaffirmed its noninterference doctrine in Latin America.
“China never seeks spheres of influence, nor does it target any third party,” said foreign ministry spokesperson Lin, brushing aside U.S. accusations.
Despite the tensions, China remains Venezuela’s top crude buyer, according to S&P Global. But the volumes are limited. Venezuelan oil made up only 2% of China’s crude imports in 2024, with most coming from the Middle East.
In fact, imports from Iran and Iraq rose in 2023–24, while Venezuelan flows fell, according to U.S. Energy Information Administration data.
Ali Moshiri, former head of Chevron’s Latin America operations, is now racing to raise $2 billion for new oil projects in Venezuela, just days after Nicolás Maduro’s capture and Donald Trump’s vow to put U.S. oil companies in charge of the country’s production.
Moshiri’s fund, Amos Global Energy Management, is already scouting multiple Venezuelan assets and has kicked off talks with institutional backers for a private placement, according to the Financial Times.
“I’ve had a dozen calls over the past 24 hours from potential investors. Interest in Venezuela has gone from zero to 99 percent,” Moshiri said.
Trump made clear the strategy was to flood the global market with cheap Venezuelan crude, saying American companies would “spend billions” to bring oil output back online.
If successful, it could help cool global energy prices, reset trade balances, and shift leverage away from OPEC+ and Russia.
Palantir stock is up nearly 5% in overnight trading, as markets bet the U.S. used its tech in the flawless capture of Nicolás Maduro.
There’s no confirmation yet, but investors are pricing in heavy Palantir involvement in what’s now being called the most sophisticated U.S. military op in years. The reaction suggests Wall Street believes Palantir helped coordinate intelligence, surveillance, or strike logistics during the mission.
The company, which has long contracts with U.S. defense and intelligence agencies, has now added billions in value overnight, as global markets digest both the Maduro takedown and Trump’s pledge to take back Venezuela’s oil infrastructure.
Meanwhile, China is fuming. Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Pakistan’s Ishaq Dar that Beijing rejects “any country acting as the world’s judge”, referring to the Venezuela mission. Wang made clear that China’s stake in Venezuelan oil exports will be “protected by law.” While he didn’t name the U.S., his language made it obvious who the message was for.
On the FX side, markets are like this right now:
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DXY Index jumped 0.3%, hitting its highest since December 22
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Euro dropped 0.3%, peso slid 0.7%, and Treasury yields edged down one basis point
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USD strengthened across most pairs:
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USD/CHF: 0.795 (+0.30%)
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USD/CAD: 1.378 (+0.36%)
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USD/INR: 90.28 (+0.32%)
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USD/RUB: 80.85 (+0.69%)
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USD/SEK: 9.235 (+0.39%)
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Bitcoin has hit $93,323, the highest level since December 11, after a 2.3% gain in early Asia trading, as markets digest U.S. military action in Venezuela. Traders are watching to see if $94,000 can hold, with $88,000 now the key level on the downside.
Bitcoin ETFs in the U.S. saw $471 million in inflows on January 2, the biggest single-day jump since November 11. BlackRock’s IBIT led the pack, pulling in $324 million in the week ending Jan. 2, according to SoSoValue.
Other U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs combined for $459 million in net inflows over that same week. Meanwhile, other assets were mixed:
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Ethereum ETFs: $161 million in weekly outflows
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Solana ETFs: $10.43 million inflows
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XRP ETFs: $43.16 million inflows
Bitcoin has underperformed for weeks, missing the stock market rally over Christmas and ending 2025 down 6.5%, despite Trump’s pro-crypto policies. But the combination of geopolitical chaos and institutional flows seems to be shifting momentum.
For now, Bitcoin is acting more like a safe haven than a tech stock, breaking out of its tight range. Whether it sustains depends on upcoming data and Venezuela fallout.
Key economic events this week:
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Monday: Market reaction to Venezuela
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Tuesday: December ISM Manufacturing PMI
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Wednesday: ADP Nonfarm + JOLTS Job Openings
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Friday: December Jobs Report + January MI Consumer Sentiment
Bitcoin has jumped to $93,410, pushing higher in early Asia hours as Donald Trump threatened Cuba, Colombia, and Mexico with potential Venezuela-style military action.
Silver is now up 4% to $75.10/oz, the highest since the chaos began. This market is running on adrenaline, and every asset is moving on geopolitics.
Chevron stock is up 11% in overnight trading, adding a massive $35 billion in market cap after Trump confirmed the U.S. will control Venezuela’s oil assets.
U.S. oil stocks are exploding along with Chevron. Here is a flash look:
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Valero (VLO): +11%
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ConocoPhillips (COP): +10%
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Marathon (MPC): +10%
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Exxon Mobil (XOM): +7%
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Phillips 66 (PSX): +6%
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Occidental (OXY): +4%
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EOG Resources (EOG): +4%
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Devon Energy (DVN): +4%
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Kinder Morgan (KMI): +3%
Meanwhile, Cryptopolitan is listening to Trump tell reporters aboard Air Force One that:-
“The oil companies are ready to go in. They’re going to rebuild the infrastructure.” He said the U.S. itself won’t invest cash but will “run everything” and “take the oil back.”
“You can’t do that. You can’t do that with me. They did it with other presidents. We’re not going to invest anything. We’re going to just take care of the country. We’re going to cherish the country. We’re going to take care, more importantly, of the people, including Venezuelans that are living in our country that were forced to leave their country.”
Trump made it clear this isn’t just about Venezuela. “Cuba looks like it’s going down,” he said. “Colombia’s run by a sick man. Mexico has cartels running the country.” He warned that Mexico could be next if it doesn’t act, saying he offered to send troops but was rejected.
Trump claimed Venezuela has “trillions in oil,” dismissed concerns about regime change, and pitched the operation as “peace on Earth.”
He insisted this wasn’t interventionism, calling it a “national security strategy” that shuts down a narco-terrorist corridor and “makes America safer and more prosperous.”
Asked about business commitments, Trump said Chevron’s in and that other sectors like steel and mining will follow.
He repeated that Venezuela “stole American infrastructure” and vowed to reclaim it without U.S. taxpayer money. “We’re not spending very much money at all, if anything,” he said.
U.S. crude slipped to $57.01 a barrel, down 31 cents or 0.54%, while Brent crude fell 22 cents to $60.53, even as the world reels from the U.S. military strike that captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.
Venezuela has 303 billion barrels of proven reserves, the largest on earth, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. That’s about 17% of the world’s total.
In the 90s, Caracas pumped 3.5 million barrels a day. Now it’s down to 800,000, based on data from Kpler. Sanctions wrecked their infrastructure, and heavy crude extraction needs advanced tech like steam injection. That’s expensive, and exactly what the U.S. has.
Texas and Louisiana house six of the largest heavy crude refineries globally. That matters because heavy crude now makes up 70% of U.S. oil imports, up from just 10-20% in 1980.
The U.S. wants this oil badly. And Venezuela used to produce three times as much oil as the U.S. back in the early 2000s. Now, it’s the other way around.
There’s a geopolitical twist too. Russia also holds massive heavy crude reserves, so tapping Venezuela undercuts Moscow’s oil leverage.
And China buys around 5% of its total annual oil imports from Venezuela. Donald Trump said he’ll sell them some of the oil himself, meaning the U.S. now controls the barrel and the buyer.
The U.S. national debt has crossed $38 trillion, jumping by over $2 trillion just since the start of Donald Trump’s second term.
Under Joe Biden, it had already surged to nearly $36 trillion. Now, with the clock ticking on budget talks, the pressure is back on Washington to figure out what this means for the average American.
A debt load this massive means higher interest rates, higher taxes, weaker government services, and crushed savings.
Everything from food prices to home loans is at risk if this keeps going. The choices that Congress and Trump make over the next two years will decide if households get squeezed even harder.
Crypto lawyer John Deaton, who once ran for Senate, went off on the numbers. “OUR NATIONAL DEBT GREW $6.3 BILLION PER DAY IN 2025,” he said. That’s $262 million every hour, $4.4 million per minute, and $73,000 per second, and that’s just the increase, not even total spending.
John wants the entire system flipped: “We need to put all spending in the blockchain for every American to see,” he said. He also called for cutting all fraud, waste and abuse from federal budgets to stop the country from racking up $2 trillion deficits every year.
Crypto Fear and Greed Index just hit 40, flipping to ‘neutral’ for the first time since October, as investors started dipping back into risky assets.
But it’s not all in on crypto, there’s a clear safety bid too. Gold climbed 0.6% to $4,359.36, bouncing back from last week’s 4.4% drop. Silver’s up 0.6% to $73.26, while platinum and palladium also ticked higher.
That spike followed Marco Rubio’s threat that the U.S. will use oil leverage to push deeper regime change in Venezuela after the raid that ended with Nicolás Maduro’s arrest.
Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were flown to New York, where they’re now facing narco-terrorism conspiracy charges. Prosecutors say their government got rich trafficking drugs while shielding Venezuela’s military elite.
U.S. stock futures are holding steady heading into Monday. Dow Jones futures are up 7 points, S&P 500 futures rose 0.1%, and Nasdaq-100 futures gained 0.3%.
That’s after the S&P 500 and Dow both ended higher on Friday, kicking off the new year in the green. Only the Nasdaq finished slightly down.
Looking ahead, Friday’s December jobs report is the one to watch. Economists expect 54,000 jobs were added, according to Dow Jones surveys.
Crypto is roaring green across the board, with total market cap up more than $90 billion in the past 24 hours. Bitcoin is back at $91,336, rising nearly $2,300 since the U.S. military captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The rally comes despite geopolitical risks heating up. China has demanded Maduro’s release, while Donald Trump confirmed U.S. oil firms will be sent to fix Venezuela’s wrecked energy sector.
From a trading perspective, Polymarket bettors are positioning bullish on Bitcoin. Broader risk appetite looks alive, so we may see U.S. markets open green tomorrow.
On the oil front, OPEC+ is sticking to its Q1 supply freeze, with delegates from Saudi Arabia and Russia meeting Sunday by video. While they say it’s too early to factor in Venezuela, the country’s long-term oil output could soon become a hot topic.
Venezuela sits on the largest oil reserves on earth but pumps less than 1% of global demand. Crude futures fell 18% last year, and analysts are warning of a glut building through 2026, so this could shift fast.
As for the coins:
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Bitcoin (BTC): $91,336, up $746 or +0.82%
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Ethereum (ETH): $3,145.55, up $20.12 or +0.64%
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Ripple (XRP): $2.0635, up 0.0459 or +2.27%
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Solana (SOL): $134.31, up $0.99 or +0.74%
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Binance Coin (BNB): $886.9, up $8.5 or +0.97%
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Dogecoin (DOGE): $0.15258, up 0.0095 or +6.64%
What to know
Trump’s Venezuela strike has turned global markets into a battlefield. Bitcoin’s exploding, oil giants are cashing in, and every superpower’s scrambling for control.
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