2216: $60 Billion Hidden Bitcoin Reserve — Live From Bitcoin Country

Summary

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Bitcoin News Alerts | Daily BTC News

Episode 2216: $60 Billion Hidden Bitcoin Reserve — Live From Bitcoin Country
Date: January 7, 2026
Host: JV (Bitcoin News Alerts)
Special Location: San Salvador, El Salvador — “Bitcoin Country”

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Episode Overview

This episode broadcasts live from San Salvador, as JV gears up for the Max and Stacy event at El Zonte, aka Bitcoin Beach. The show provides a pulse-check on the Bitcoin market, dives into the latest headlines (including ETF inflows and regulatory news), and features a deep-dive into the explosive theory that Venezuela may be hiding a massive $60 billion Bitcoin reserve. True to Bitcoin News Alerts’ no-nonsense ethos, JV offers raw market commentary, technical analysis, and opinion, maintaining a high-energy, “stack hard, stay sovereign” tone throughout.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Broadcasting Live from “Bitcoin Country”

• JV opens with high spirits, streaming from his hotel in San Salvador, anticipating the Max and Stacy event at Bitcoin Beach (El Zonte).
• Reflects the community’s excitement for the three-day Bitcoin-focused event ([02:37]).

2. Market Watch & Technical Analysis

• Bitcoin Price Action:
  • BTC corrected after recapturing $95,000, currently trading just above $91,000 — a healthy pullback after a week of bullishness.
  • “Bitcoin did take a bit of a pullback after recapturing 95,000 the other day. It’s currently down a half a percent on the day.” — JV ([03:08])
  • Other major assets (ETH, XRP) are also red; modest gainers in the top 100.
• Crypto Fear & Greed Index:
  • Currently at 42 — market has moved out of “extreme fear,” reflecting improved market sentiment ([03:32]).
• TA Overview:
  • “On the hourly you’ll notice we had a nice ascension up to 95 but then we started a little correction...on the four hour…pure bullishness…bit of a correction, totally normal and healthy…” — JV ([04:59])
  • Still in green for the year, despite the retracement.
  • $100,000 highlighted as key psychological resistance ([05:24]).

3. MSCI Update & MSTR FUD

• MSCI Index Controversy:
  • Summary: MSCI has decided to keep Bitcoin and crypto treasury companies in its index, quelling rumors that MicroStrategy (MSTR) might be forced to sell its holdings, thus ending significant FUD.
  • “MSCI’s move exposes how the status quo will quietly work to suppress the biddy and digital assets… framed as risk management but functionally protects legacy financial structures.” — Reading from analyst James Thorne ([06:25])
  • Max Keiser’s take: “MSCI is an index product which offers market exposure. So like all financial products it has flaws. Their concern that MSTR could gain the index by printing infinite shares is legit. Ultimately it doesn’t matter. MSTR's weighting goes up with the bitty. Reflectivity remains intact.” — Max Keiser via JV ([07:10])
• Fallout & Implications:
  • The new MSCI rules will halt index-driven passive demand for new MSTR shares, making it harder for the company to raise capital for further BTC purchases by issuing equity ([09:27]).
  • MSTR stock dropped by 4% following these developments, but so did the broader market ([10:12]).

4. Bitcoin ETFs Roar into 2026

• Explosive Inflows:
  • “Bitcoin ETFs come into the year like a Lion — 600% surge at the current pace.” ([10:49])
  • $1.2 billion in inflows within the first two trading days alone.
  • “If the pace is maintained, it would mean $150 billion in annual inflows, which is around 600% more than the total inflow for 2025.” — JV, citing ETF analyst Eric Balchunas ([11:26])
  • BlackRock and Fidelity continue to dominate BTC ETF flows, while Morgan Stanley entered the space with new filings ([13:05]).

5. Assets Race: Gold, Silver, and Bitcoin

• Market Cap Showdown:
  • Gold: $31.1 trillion, Silver: briefly above Nvidia’s market cap ($4.5T+), reflecting immense volatility and investor flight to traditionally safe assets ([14:08]).
  • Nvidia’s meteoric rise almost rivaling silver’s market cap is described as “insane” ([14:27]).
• Perspective:
  • “Gold is the poor man’s Bitcoin. I’m sticking to it.” — JV quoting Max Keiser ([15:05])
  • Rate cuts by the Fed (“Chair Nipinator”) are expected to drive even more demand for risk assets like Bitcoin.

6. Regulatory Update: Clarity Act Headed to Senate

• Clarity Act:
  • The U.S. Digital Asset Market Clarity Act is scheduled for Senate markup next week ([16:04]).
  • “We have worked tirelessly for the last six months plus making sure we had multiple drafts available to every member of the committee.” — JV quoting Senator Tim Scott ([16:26])
  • If passed without changes, it heads directly to President Trump.
• Industry Reaction:
  • Debate remains over illicit finance provisions, DeFi compliance requirements, and other measures—some see it as a positive, others are skeptical about quick passage ([17:27], [18:32]).

7. Micro Gold Units: Tether’s “Scudo”

• Innovation:
  • Tether introduces “Scudo” — a 1/1,000th ounce of gold token to make on-chain gold ownership/investment far more accessible ([19:48]).
  • Metaphor: “A Scudo is like a satoshi, only for gold, whereas a satoshi is for a fraction of a biddy.” — JV ([21:02])
  • Designed to facilitate fractional ownership and transactions in digital gold.

8. Featured Story — Venezuela’s Alleged $60 Billion Hidden Bitcoin Reserve

(The Main Event of the Episode)

• Theory:
  • Investigative journalist Bradley Hope claims Venezuela may have converted gold reserves to BTC, potentially amassing 600,000 BTC (~$60B).
  • “Sources describe a Swiss lawyer who controls the wallet access.” — Bradley Hope (quoted at [23:34])
• Skepticism:
  • JV breaks down on-chain evidence:
    • “Trackers suggest the country has only 240 Bitcoin ($22 million) since 2022. Obviously, big difference between $60B and $22M.” ([24:39])
    • The big number stems from mathematical estimation based on gold sales, not from on-chain proof.
    • “If they possess 600,000 Bitcoin and managed to fool blockchain analysts, they need to bring serious proof.” ([25:12])
• Crypto & Oil Trades:
  • Venezuela has routed oil sales through digital assets due to sanctions and has a history of crypto adoption for survival during hyperinflation ([27:20]).
  • Ranked 11th in global crypto adoption for 2025.
• Obfuscation & Traceability:
  • State wallets difficult to attribute due to offshore brokers and wallet fragmentation.
  • “For large scale asset conversion... look for peeling chains… to maintain plausible deniability unless the private keys are compromised.” — Paraphrased from Nansen blockchain analytics ([28:53])
• Geopolitical Twist:
  • Theoretical question: If the U.S., via regime change or seizure, obtained access to the alleged Bitcoin hoard, America could become the world’s largest BTC holder, possibly surpassing even Satoshi ([30:29]).
  • “You trade gold for the King. That’s all I’m saying.” — JV ([30:55])

9. Memorable Airport Story: "Comedy Gold"

• JV recounts arriving in El Salvador, being sniffed out by customs dogs — “I don’t travel with much De Niro. Maybe I just smell like money.” ([32:08])
• Adds a genuine, light-hearted touch illustrating the energy of the trip and show.

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Memorable Quotes

• On Market Resilience:
  “But this is the weekly. Let’s start with the hourly and work our way backwards…a bit of a correction, which is totally normal and healthy so we can continue the next leg up recapture 100,000 which is the critical psychological resistance.” — JV ([04:58]–[05:24])

• On Gold vs. Bitcoin:
  “Gold is the poor man’s Bitcoin. I’m sticking to it.” ([15:05])

• On Regulatory Momentum:
  “It’s important for us to get on the record and vote. We have worked tirelessly…making sure we had multiple drafts available to every member of the committee.” — Sen. Tim Scott via JV ([16:26])

• On Venezuela’s Rumored Reserve:
  “If they actually possess 600,000 Bitcoin…they need to come with some serious proof for such a claim.” ([25:12])

• On the U.S. Possibly Becoming the Top Holder:
  “If you added 600,000 to the mix, then the US would hold roughly as much bitcoin as Satoshi, which is estimated to have 1.1 million BTC.” ([30:29])

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Important Timestamps

• [02:37] — Live from El Salvador; event preview
• [03:08]–[04:58] — Market overview, fear & greed, technicals
• [06:25]–[07:43] — MSCI and MSTR index drama, Max Keiser's commentary
• [10:49]–[11:41] — Surge of Bitcoin ETF inflows
• [14:08]–[15:52] — Gold and Silver market cap, asset race
• [16:04]–[17:06] — Clarity Act Senate update
• [19:48]–[21:36] — Tether launches Scudo (fractional gold unit)
• [22:53]–[32:05] — Deep-dive: Venezuela’s $60B hidden Bitcoin reserve debate
• [32:08]–[32:43] — JV’s customs/airport story
• [32:46] — Start of Q&A segment

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Conclusion

This episode delivers a high-energy, boots-on-the-ground report from El Salvador, keeping listeners plugged into the fast-changing Bitcoin ecosystem. JV covers everything from near-term market volatility, ETF developments, and regulatory battles, to the wild, headline-grabbing theory of Venezuela’s possibly hidden Bitcoin billions. Throughout, the ethos is relentless Bitcoin maximalism, humor, and a nod to the “stack sats, stay sovereign” philosophy.

For listeners seeking the perfect blend of real-time market analysis, hard-hitting news, and crypto lore — this episode delivers.

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Transcript

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

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[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Welcome Bitcoin Fam. Live from San Salvador inside the hotel and get a little inside action Jackson on the day. In today's show I'll be sharing my experience here in Bitcoin country for the big Max and Stacy event Lumen starting tomorrow in El Zante Bitcoin Beach. We'll also be discussing the latest of the headlines. What's happening in the market. The latest TA technical analysis Bitcoin price did correct. There's also an MSCI update. Max Kaiser chimed in and wrote MSCI is an index price product that offers market exposure. Like all financial products, it has flaws. Their concern that MSTR could gain the index by printing infinite shares is legit.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Ultimately it doesn't matter.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

MSTR's weighting goes up with the Bitcoin reflectivity remains intact. We'll also be discussed in the latest with the Bitcoin ETFs come like a lion with a 600% surge at the current pace. We also discuss gold and silver briefly reclaiming the top spots by market cap as well as the Clarity act. Headed for the next market makeup week according to Senator Tim Scott. Also like sats for bitcoin tether creates a tiny gold unit as on chain demand continues to grow. And then big news out of Venezuela allegedly hiding 600000 Bitcoin reserve. We'll be breaking this down for you. We'll also be taking a look at the overall crypto market. All this plus so much more live.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Right here in Bitcoin country.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Welcome fam. Today is Pod episode 2216 JV streaming live from Bitcoin country El Salvador ahead of the big Max and Stacy event which kicks off tomorrow. Going to be a three day event. We got a lot of the BNA fam right here. I'm streaming live from my hotel here in San Salvador. Going to be another epic stream. We do got a lot of interesting topics of conversation of course to share, but first and foremost let's kick it off with our market watch as we.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Do each and every day.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Pulling up coin360, you should be able to see here. Bitcoin did take a bit of a pullback after recapturing 95,000 the other day. It's currently down a half a percent on the day. We have ether down 1.7%. We have XRP down 2%. The bulk of the market correcting. But that's because we've had a bullish first week of the month here to kick off the new year. Check it out. Coinmarketcap.com Total crypto market cap today is 3.13 trillion. The Bitcoin market cap is above 1.8 trillion. We're looking to recapture that 2 trillion milestone and we got to get back above 4 trillion for the total crypto market cap where we left off before the massive Correction of the Q4. And thank God, Q4 is now behind us. Checking out top 100 crypto gainers past 24 hours. We got MyX up 5%. Very modest gainers because the bulk of the market, as you can see is correcting. And in the red, checking out the crypto greed and fear index. We're still in fear. No longer an extreme fear rated a 42 on the day, yesterday a 44 last week at 21 and last month at 20 in extreme fear. Checking out the time chain calendar today is block height 931,297 and you could exchange one fiat monopoly dollar for one 96 sats. So you know precisely what to do. You pick up the SATs, put down the gats and pick up some bitcoin caps from a man, sergio over@bitcoin caps.net Sergio is going to be joining us later today from Miami and showing us around the historic district which I'm looking forward to help support your boy. If you like this cap, you should be able to find it on his website Bitcoin caps.net so as you can see on your screen, we do got Bitcoin correcting just above 91, 000 at the time of the live. We did crack down from 95 just the other day a couple of days ago on my last pod.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

But this is the weekly.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Let's start with the hourly and work our way backwards. So yeah on the hourly you'll notice we had a nice ascension up to 95 but then we started a little correction. We're currently below the moving averages. Checking out the four hour. You're also going to notice very similar. We had a nice run up. Pure bullishness. Great way to kick off the new year 2026 baby. But a bit of a correction which is totally normal and healthy so we.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Can continue the next leg up recapture.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

100,000 which is the critical psychological resistance.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Which we shall break above this week.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Live in bitcoin country.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Checking out the daily you're going to notice here big red candle on the day reversing all of yesterday's big gains. But we haven't reversed all the gains thus far for the year as we were like in the 87:88 range when.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

We kicked off the year.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

So we're still in the green. Also let's next check out the weekly.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

As you'll notice here we did get a weekly close in the green which was nice for the first weekly close of the new year. Hopefully we can continue the momentum. We're only halfway through the week. Hopefully the bulls come out here Checking out the monthly you're also going to notice we kicking off this new month and New year on the right foot. We are currently in a green. Hopefully we continue resume this bullish momentum. But you know Q4 was very disappointing as we had an October Octo or.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

November and a December though you know.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

The trifecta unfortunately of the bears but tis what it next let's do a little TA see what the analysts have to say. Should be able to see here on your screen Bitcoin price falls despite really bullish MSCI update. What went wrong? We'll dissect it but first a few words from Max in response to this. Actually James Thorne wrote:6 hours ago yes up to their old tricks MSTR is allowed to stay in the MSTI index but under the surface games being played to suppress bitcoin and digital assets. MSCI's move exposes how the status quo will quietly work to suppress the biddy and the digital assets by freezing index driven upside while avoiding the explicit ban they blunt the reflect the benefits Blunt yes please of corporate bitcoin adoption. This is framed as risk management but functionally protects the legacy financial structures from a credible alternative. Did the MSCI really think they did not read the fine print? And then of course Max his two satoshis he wrote MSCI is an index product which offers market exposure. So like all financial products it has flaws. They're concerned that MSTR could gain the index by printing infinite shares as legit. Ultimately it doesn't matter.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

MSTR's weighting goes up with the bitty reflectivity remains intact.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Take that shout out to the high priest right there for his two satoshis. But yeah, diving a little deeper into this article here, we already did the live chart so I'll blow past that. And someone wrote here analyst by the name of Bull Theory Break and MSCI announced it'll keep the bitcoin and crypto treasury companies in the indexes so it's.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Not being remove moved.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

This was the biggest reason behind the October 10 crash on 1010 which wiped.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Out 19 billion which still to this.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Day is the largest crash single day in Bitcoin history. This announcement would also end the MSTR FUD about being forced to sell their bitcoin holdings worth billions.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

So take that fudsters. So yeah, MSCI limits passive demand for.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

The strategy shares this was official as of yesterday.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

They made the announcement they will no longer adjust index weighting to reflect newly.

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[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Get [e-mail] issued shares previously, when companies.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Like Strategy issue new equity to raise capital for their bitcoin purchases, passive funds track in the MSCI indexes were required.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

To buy a portion of those shares, creating steady demand. Under the new rules, the automatic buying no longer applies, reducing a key source of the passive demand for the strategy stock. Put simply, Sailors led company will likely face limits on its ability to raise capital for additional bitty purchases promoting oh that.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Another analyst wrote.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

MSCI fooled everyone with their announcement.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

For those who are thinking there's a small deal strategy issued 15 billion in.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

New shares in 2025.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

If they try to do something similar.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

In 2026, MSTR will face a brutal crash due to no passive buying. And in return, MSTR stock price did.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Drop 4% on Tuesday, but so did.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

The bulk of the market including crypto. Right now from a TA perspective, Bitcoin pull after testing the upper trend line of its prevailing ascending triangle pattern and as of Wednesday Bitcoin held above the 50 day exponential moving average which is the red wave on your screen and is above 91 which acted as the near term support. And naturally if this doesn't hold we could visit revisit I should say the 80s. But you guys let me know where you feel the pre little bitty likely take us next as we continue live from Bitcoin Country Living the Bitcoin dream.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

So ETF volume has picked up big time. As you can read in the headline here, Bitcoin ETFs come into the year like a Lion 600 surge. I say like a nipinator at the current price. That's right, US bought Bitcoin ETFs have started the year at an explosive pace that could, if maintained, see it blow out total inflows from 2025, which would be very bullish obviously, right the spot Bitcoin ETFs are coming in like a lion or like a nipinator. He pointed to Eric Balunes, the ETF expert at Bloomberg. He pointed out there have been more than 1.2 billion worth of the inflows just in the first two trading days.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Of the year with everyone eating, meaning.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Nearly all funds have seen inflows this the Wisdom Tree Bitcoin fund was the only exception. Baltuna has observed that if the pace is manipulated, it would mean 150 billion in annual inflows, which is around 600%.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

More than the total inflow for 2025.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Told Y', all if they can take.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

22 billion when it's raining, imagine when the sun is shining. Amen and happy belated Three Kings Day by the way, as a big Christian holiday here.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

I didn't get to stream yesterday so just throwing it in there spot Bitcoin.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

ETFs in the US saw net inflows at 21 billion last year with Black Rocks ibit taking in the lion's share. However, it marks a decline from 35 billion of 2024. That was the inauguration year of the ETS which went live January 11, 2024. Monday's WHO 700 million net inflow was the largest for three months as the.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Price returned and remained above 90 again.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Following a tumultuous Fortnite to the end 2025.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Speaking of Fortnite, ain't that a video game? According to the Fabian Dory cio, this renewed ETF demand is increasingly relevant for market structure. You also noted the ETF demand is steadily absorbing circulating supply, pointing to a potential long term demand shock rather than the short term speculative flows. Momentum appeared to be cooling down on Taco Tuesday, however, preliminary figure oh, and we went to the taco spot yesterday on Taco Tuesday they were closed.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

The one I went with Brandon Martin last year.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

We'll have to hit that one up again. So we ended up having sushi. I'll share some photos later. Anyways, Multi trillion dollar asset manager Morgan Stanley filed with the SEC on Tuesday to launch the Bitcoin Solana.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Who cares about the Solana ETFs. You know Shitcoin ETFs.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

This move places Wall street giants alongside BlackRock and Fidelity in the crypto ETF space. According to the filing, Morgan Stanley's Bitcoin trust is a passive investment vehicle designed to track the bitty spot price and will not use leverage or derivatives. I like this move by them. It's smart, said Baltunes. They have like 8 trillion in advisory assets and they already okayed those advisors to allocate so might be well in their own branded fund versus paying BlackRock or someone else.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

And if you don't know, you'll never know.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

So get with the program pretty much.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

There's the latest ETF inflows are crushing, you know, like a White Russian.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Next story though, let's continue knocking out the news. Gold Silver briefly reclaimed the top spot.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Like Luda said, I'm coming for that number one spot.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Gold and Silver briefly reclaimed their spots of the two biggest assets as far as market cap. According to the data companies Market Cap Gold currently has a market cap of.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

31.1 trillion leading the way.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Obviously Pole Position Silver, which has been trading places with Nvidia for second place.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Since December, flipped Nvidia again, but only briefly, only to be overtaken again by the time of publication.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

So it's back and forth because they're so close.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Obviously.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Pole position gold 31 trillion.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

As you can see here, Nvidia currently 4.55 trillion and silver 4.51 trillion. Nvidia is seeing. That's insane. That Nvidia is close to 5 trillion already. That must be the fastest company to ever hit that type of market cap, because what else has that type of market cap?

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

You know Nvidia seeing a gold rush.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Of its own amid strong demand for computing resources to support the AI. You know all these AI chips. There has been a flight to precious metals over the past year with investors seeking out traditional stores of value for safety amid the global conflicts and trade disputes. Investors also expecting potentially significant rate cuts from the U S Fed under the new chair Nipinator, which is also likely driving investors the commodities such as gold and silver. Just remember, as Max says, gold is the poor man's bitcoin. I'm sticking to it. The increased demand has seen gold and silver recently tagged new all time highs of 4,500 an ounce for the gold and 80 bucks for the silver respectively. While the momentum hasn't yet swung to the bitcoin and crypto and their sense that it might not be too far off, so we shall see. In a recent interview, Managing Director of Clear street argued that Fed's monetary policy decision in 2026 will be only one of the key catalysts for the crypto space. He also asserted the lower rates would spark a hunger from down under amongst the retail and institutional investors for the risk assets such as the digital gold.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Next up, the Clarity act tether and then the 600,000 potentially hidden Bitcoin stash from Venezuela, which is very interesting. Here we go. Clarity act headed for the markup next.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Week, according to Senator Tim Scott.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

That's right, the Digital Asset Market Clarity act, which is set to provide the U S Crypto industry with more regulatory clarity.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

Respect my authority.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

We'll head to the Senate for deliberation next week, according to Tim Scott. He says next Thursday we'll have a vote on the market structure.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

He shared with the news.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

It's important for us to get on.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

The record and vote.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

We have worked tirelessly for the last six months plus making sure we had multiple drafts available to every member of the committee. His remarks confirmed the recent comments of December From White House AI and crypto czar Mr. David Sachs that the landmark crypto regulatory bill, which aims to establish a comprehensive framework for crypto market structure in the US Was set for the.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Senate markup in January.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

The House of Representatives approved the legislation in July 2025. So if the Senate passes it without changes, it won't need to return to the House and proceed to Trump for the final approval. Meanwhile, the crypto execs have debated the potential impact of this legislation since it was first introduced to the House of.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Reps in May 2025.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

The bill is potentially coming to a head next week. The industry still divided met. Lex founder crypto lawyer Gabrielle Shapiro said the US is probably going to get net crypto market structure bill. He added there are still concerns about.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Illicit finance but there could be some deal worked out.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Some are less optimistic about the bill passage so quickly. For example, Alex Thorne @ Galaxy Research, Galaxy Digital said after reviewing the document from Bipartisan Senate Today's episode of Bitcoin.

[Progressive Insurance Announcer]

News Alerts is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. You chose to hit play on this podcast today. Smart Choice make another smart choice with Auto Quote Explorer to compare rates from multiple car insurance companies all at once. Try [e-mail] Progressive Casualty Insurance Company and affiliates not available in all states or situations. Prices vary based on how you.

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[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Required Meeting Tuesday it's unclear.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

If the two sides came together to.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Make the bipartisan as plenty of the issues are still outstanding. Thorne said Democrats are pushing for several changes to the legislation, including requiring defi front ends to comply with sanctions so interfaces can block illegal transactions and given the US Treasury's official Office of Foreign Asset Control special measures to act against entities involved in illicit activity, tax avoidance, criminals, drug traffickers, you know, those anti money launderers. However, Castle Island Adventure partner Nick Carter said the request by the Dems are actually pretty reasonable. That's an interesting quote. You don't hear that too often. Dems and reasonable, but hey, teach their own. Some industry participants suggest a delay in passing the legislation may have played a part of the recent volatility of the crypto.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Market. Coin shares attributed 952 million of outflows from crypto investment products during the weekend in December 19 to delays in passing the Clarity act, citing prolonged regulatory uncertainty as one of the potential catalysts. Just note this, you can't short your dorks. Can't afford that without being sure. All right yo. Next story. Like stats for the biddy Tether crates tiny gold unit as on chain.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Demand grows like Pinocchio's.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Nose. Just like that, Tether introduced a new unit of the account tied to the digital gold token in a move aimed at lowering barriers to fractional gold ownership at a time when institutional investors and central banks are accumulating the precious metals at record levels. On Tuesday, stablecoin Issuer unveiled Scudo.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

A unit of account representing one thousandth of a troy ounce of.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Gold. Again, if you've never heard of.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

That, it's called the.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Scudo. Each scudo corresponds to 1/1000th of this XAUT token, which is their gold token. Tether's gold back asset is supported.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

By more than 1300 gold bars held.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

In custody currently as a market cap of roughly 2.3 billion, according to Tether. Tether said the introduction of the.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Scud is designed to make gold ownership more accessible. While gold has long been viewed.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

As a reliable store value, direct ownership has historically been constrained by storage, custody and invisibility issues. And although this Xaut already addressed.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Many of these challenges by tokenizing the physical gold, the Scudo is intended to further simplify smaller onchain transactions backed by the metal. So a great metaphor is a scudo is like a satoshi, only a scudo is a fraction of of the gold, whereas The Satoshi is 1/1 millionth of a fraction of a biddy. Now according to the company, the move represents a step towards making gold more easily transactable on the modern digital rails rather than serving solely as a long term store value. Here's a big announcement from their CEO Paolo Scudo as a means of accounting 1/1,000 of an ounce improves user.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Experience of the XAUT for transfers, payments and pricing. All upcoming Tether WDK based wallets.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Will integrate integrate the Scudo denomination similarly.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

To sats for the Bitcoin. So there you go. You heard it here first. Precious metals posted a record year in 2025. You already know gold prices rose.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

65% outperforming Bitcoin for the calendar year.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Amid renewed de dollarization efforts, aggressive central bank purchases and persistent inflation concerns amongst investors. The rally extended beyond gold. Also, silver hit all time highs actually stole the show up 140 for the year, reaching about $80 per troy ounce, underscoring broader momentum across the metals complex. And then Peter Schiff tweeted this. Not that we really care what he has to say, but it's entertainment. Copper is trading above $6 per pound for the first time ever. Both industrial and precious metal prices will soar in 2026 as a weak dollar and inflation propel prices to unprecedented heights. Metals are signaling that we're on the cusp of the greatest inflation in.

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U. S.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

History. I actually respect that Peter, he did not disrespect bitcoin in a post which is Peter in rare form. So yeah, I think the dollar's doomed. I think we all agree with that. That's one thing Peter got right. So there you.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Go. Even a broken clock is right two times a day, you know. Now the moment you've all been.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Waiting on, our feature story of the day is Venezuela hiding a 600,000 Bitcoin reserve. That'd be roughly $60 billion. And this is. There's a lot of speculation going around right now. So let's entertain this. The u. S Capture of Nicholas Maduro has renewed questions over whether Venezuela holds an undisclosed biddy reserve which analysts say remains unproven. But on Saturday and out of all Saturdays it was sat stacking Saturday.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Investigative journalist Bradley hope outlined a theory.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

That Venezuela may be holding a hidden bitcoin reserve, a treasure trove worth up to 60 billion. Claiming that its government has been.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Converting gold into crypto over several.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Years. Quoting them here, sources describe a Swiss lay or sorry, lawyer. A swiss lawyer who controls the wallet access. Wow. Hope said in a co authored report published by an investigative newsletter the whale hunting that the raising concerns about the alleged involvement of Alex Saab, Venezuela's minister of industry and national production who.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Has been sanctioned by the u. S.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

And although hope's theory was quickly picked up by the media, major blockchain intel platforms have yet to find proof of Venezuela's undeclared bitcoin holdings. As you know, everything with bitcoin is on chain via the blockchain coined.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

The time chain calendar by satoshi and then the force of evil converted to the blockchain chain.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Crazy. But anyways. So where does this figure come.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

From? Let's dive a little deeper, shall.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

We? Speculation that Venezuela may hold 600000 Bitcoin has drawn the attention particularly as trackers of bitcointreasuries.net suggests that the country.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Has accumulated just 240 Bitcoin only 22 million since.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

2022. Obviously it'd be a big difference.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Between 60 billion and 22 million, right? The 600000 Bitcoin figure is not based on on chain evidence over the counter. That's what I'm going to assume here. Rather it's a mathematical estimate derived from Venezuela's gold sale since 2018, including a 33 ton sale that year. 33 tons of gold which accounted for 40 of the country's gold reserves. And you already know what trump and the US is loving the oil, the gold, the bitties, whatever resources they can.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Get. Here's what they have to say. If they actually possess 600000 Bitcoin and then they managed to fool a lot of blockchain analysts, they need to come with some serious proof for such a claim. So here's Bradley Hope's tweet. Sources describe a Swiss lawyer who controls Wallet and I'm not surprised. If someone controlled it, it would.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Absolutely be a lawyer, you.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Know. And with Maduro captured, the question isn't whether the regime survives, is whether.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

The 60 billion vanishes into the blockchain forever. Remember, it's going up forever.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Laura. So we need a full investigation. They also expressed caution about 240 bitcoin reported, noting that its data is not always backed by verifiable transactions. Now, Venezuela adopted crypto early, but the holdings remain opaque. That's right. While we are still looking into.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Potential Maduro regime crypto holdings is important to note. Maduro's regime has been experimenting with crypto for years. As early as I moved to Puerto Rico in 2018. That's the word in the streets now. Under Maduro, Venezuela launched its oil.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Backed national digital currency to.

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[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

A project that was shut down after.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Six years, the government directed state entities to adopt crypto based payment mechanisms, particularly for oil related and cross border transactions. Adding Venezuela has routed oil sales through digital wallets rather than traditional traditional banks. Venezuela also emerged as a major adopter of crypto amid spiraling inflation of its Local currency the Bolivar which witnessed Hyperinflation I believe lost 99.9 of his value dollar probably will follow. The country ranks 11th amongst the top 20 crypto adoption in 2025 according to the report by TRM Labs as outlined here. Number 1 India Pole Position 2 US 3 Pakistan for the Philippines, shout out what's his name? Boxer Manny Pacquiao. Then you got 5 Brazil 6 Indonesia 7 Vietnam 8 Republic of Korea 9 Japan Konishiwa and 10 Ukraine and 11 the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. And there you go. Despite the early adoption of growing popularity, Venezuela's crypto holdings, including potential Bitcoin reserve remain opaque. Platforms like ARCAM cannot track the Venezuelan government link wallet chainalysis and elliptic decline to.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Comment. Maybe they fear for their.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Safety. You know if they reveal it.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Who? Who knows? But anyways Arterly, head of the research of the blockchain analytics firm Nansen shared there are some Venezuela link wallet clusters including state aligned exchanges like Cryptologo however almost sounds like Mar a Largo.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

But the crypto version Trump get on.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

It. Let's create Crypto Largo of course in Florida. Florida however attribution remains difficult due to the use of the fragmented unhosted wallets and specialized offshore over the counter brokers to mask the ultimate destination of the funds for large scale asset conversion one looks for peeling chains where massive sums are fractioned into smaller, less suspicious transactions across long sequences of addresses, according to the experts. And while advanced behavioral analytics and clustering heuristics can often reconstruct these trails, that they remain highly effective at maintaining the plausible deniability unless the underlying private keys are compromised. And Cointelegraph approached the whale hunting Bradley Hope for comments and regarding the Venezuela alleged Biddy and the U.S. department of justice about the potential crypto seizure effort but have not received any.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Responses. So the US has not confirmed.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Any of these rumors, but there you go yo. One thing to consider. We do have a strategic bitcoin reserve which was signed back early last year by Trump with the executive order where if it's a net neutral way they can acquire and stockpile Bitcoin. And theoretically if the 600000 treasure trove from Venezuela is true and the US somehow gets a hold of it, hypothetically say from the lawyer who allegedly has the private keys, the US could be one of the largest holders of Bitcoin, surpassing the stash of of sailor because it's already speculated the US holds somewhere between 200 300,000 bitcoin. So if you added 600,000 to the mix, then the US would hold.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Roughly as much bitcoin as Satoshi, which is estimated to have 1.1 million.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

BTC. But you let me know your thoughts. Do you think where there's smoke, there's fire, there's any truth to.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

This? To me, kind of makes.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Sense. I mean, if they started investing in Crypto back in 2018 and they sold 30, whatever, tons of gold, what would you sell gold.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

For? You know, again, gold is a poor man's.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Bitcoin. You trade gold for the king. That's all I'm saying. But anyways, fam, There you go. That's the latest what's happening in the market again. Streaming live. Bitcoin.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Country. Living a bitty.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Dream. Shout out to the Nipinator. He's not here with us. He couldn't fly international. Oh, I got a funny story at the.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Airport.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Yo. This was the comedy gold.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Here. Didn't expect it. I got off the flight, you know, I had to stop over in Panama because there's no direct flight from.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Puerto Rico to bitcoin country. So I have to go from.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

San Juan, Puerto Rico to Panama, which is a big, you know, international destination, huge airport. But anyways, then from Panama to bitcoin country, San Salvador. So obviously my last flight was from Panama. But long story short, as soon as you walk off the plane, they.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Happen to have the customs guys with.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

The canines, like a canine.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Unit. And basically there's like a small.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Thing, you walk by and then the dog's sniffing everybody. And I you not. The dog sniffed me out. So they pulled me aside and they check my bags, and I'm like, they must smell the Nipinator.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Clearly. But they did a quick.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Check. They're like, okay, no drugs. They asked, do you have De Niro? Like, actually, quite honestly, I don't travel with much De Niro. You know, I don't know if the dog was trained to smell money. And I maybe I just smell like money. I don't know. But I found that quite hilarious. The dog sniffed me out, maybe because I made eye contact with it. I like dogs. So I'm walking by, smiling at it like, ah, friendly little dog. And then.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

It'S. I said, oh, they thought they.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Had something, but they ain't find nothing. And unlike Shandy, I did not go to El Salvador prison. And there you.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Go. True.

[Co-host or Guest Analyst]

Story. Now for the q A segment of the.

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Show. And don't forget to check out bitcoinnewsalerts.net for the full premium experience with.

[JV (Host of Bitcoin News Alerts)]

Video and to participate in the live stream along with the Q A, and I look forward to seeing you on tomorrow's episode.

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