The US’s capture of Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro will boost crypto markets in 2026, according to digital assets brokerage BlockByte.
The argument? That the removal of Maduro will cause global oil prices to drop, which will drive more capital into digital assets, BlockByte argued on LinkedIn.
“Assets like Bitcoin could serve as a hedge against any short-term volatility or geopolitical fallout,” the firm wrote.
But it won’t be smooth sailing as BlockByte anticipates “market volatility ahead” caused by China and Russia’s potential retaliation to the capture of their South American ally. Both Beijing and Moscow have demanded that the US release Maduro.
BlockByte’s bullish call comes after Bitcoin jumped back above $92,000 following the capture of Maduro by US special forces on Saturday.
Short positions worth $180 million betting that the market would fall further were liquidated over the past 24 hours, compared to just $75 million in longs, Coinglass data shows.
Venezuelans are closely watching crypto markets too. The country is “among the world’s highest-adoption countries despite its relatively small formal economy,” Ari Redbord, global head of policy and government affairs at TRM Labs, told DL News in December.
Stocks, gold glitter
Bitcoin tends to rise and fall in tandem with US stock markets.
Despite uncertainty in the wake of the US raid on Caracas, market watchers predict that stock markets will keep growing over the course of 2026.
“Geopolitical crises tend to create buying opportunities for stock investors,” Ed Yardeni, president of Yardeni Research, wrote. “There may be a few such opportunities this year.”
He said that the S&P 500 earnings outlook, a key benchmark for the US stock market, “remains solid for the year ahead.”
“Industry analysts who follow companies in the index collectively expect S&P 500 earnings per share to rise 15.6% in 2026 to $313.84,” Yardeni said.
And Yardeni is not the only one optimistic about the situation.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas said on X that “US equity futures show no worry, [the SPX stock benchmark is] up a bit.”
The price of gold also jumped nearly 2% on the news of more geopolitical turbulence. The precious metal now trades at just over $4,400 per ounce.
Monroe Doctrine
US President Donald Trump’s controversial capture of Maduro will rewire global energy markets, Bloomberg energy columnist Javier Blas said.
“Having de facto control of the Western Hemisphere’s petroleum wealth is a geopolitical game changer,” he wrote on LinkedIn. “Today the White House has primacy over oil-producing allies and adversaries alike.”
“More than 200 years after US President James Monroe declared Latin America a sphere of influence for the White House, creating the Monroe Doctrine, Trump is updating it for the 21st century,” he said.
Crypto market movers
Bitcoin is up 1.5% over the past 24 hours, trading at $92,824.
Ethereum is up 0.9% over the past 24 hours trading at $3,170.
