SEC chair says seizure of Venezuela’s reported Bitcoin 'remains to be seen'

Paul Atkins, chair of the US Securities and Exchange Commission, did not rule out the possibility that US authorities could seize Venezuela’s reported Bitcoin holdings after US forces unseated and captured the country’s president. In a Monday interview with Fox Business’ Stuart Varney, Atkins responded to reports claiming Venezuela holds up to $60 billion worth of Bitcoin (about 600,000 BTC), though several analysts said they were unable to verify those claims.

The SEC chair said it "remains to be seen" what action, if any, the US would take, and added, "I leave that to others in the administration to deal with — I’m not involved in that," when asked whether the US would "take those Bitcoin off ‘em." The reports surfaced after US forces, at the direction of President Donald Trump, captured then‑President Nicolás Maduro last week and removed him to the United States to face criminal charges in New York.

As of publication, blockchain analysts and intelligence platforms had not confirmed the reported $60 billion in crypto. Atkins’ remarks came days before the US Senate Banking Committee was scheduled to hold a markup on the Digital Asset Market Clarity Act, or CLARITY. The House passed the bill in July and it has been under review in the Senate; drafts showed lawmakers were attempting to give the Commodity Futures Trading Commission more authority to regulate digital assets.

Key Topics

Crypto, Paul Atkins, Venezuela, Bitcoin, Nicolás Maduro, Clarity