Bitcoin surges above $93k after U.S. captures Venezuelan President Maduro

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency prices traded higher early Monday, continuing their weekend climb following the U.S. capture and extraction of Venezuela President Nicolas Maduro.

President Donald Trump on Saturday announced the U.S. is “going to run” Venezuela until there is an opportunity for a “safe, proper and judicious transition,” after detaining Maduro on drug and weapons charges.

Trump also said that U.S. oil companies will begin investing in Venezuela’s oil infrastructure. Venezuela has some of the world’s largest crude oil reserves.

Oil prices fell on the news while cryptocurrency prices rallied.

Bitcoin on Monday briefly surged above $93,000 after trading below $90,000 prior to news of Saturday’s operation. The world’s top cryptocurrency is already up nearly 6% this year, after sliding as much in 2025.

Ethereum jumped above $3,150 Monday, climbing from around $3,000 on Friday. The price of ethereum has gained 6% so far in 2026. The No. 2 crypto fell about 11% in 2025.

Singapore-based digital asset trading firm QCP Group said in a Monday note that the move coincided with equity gains and weaker oil prices after the U.S. operation in Venezuela.

“Crypto’s recent alignment with broader risk assets may signal a regime shift and the strengthening of bullish narratives to start the year,” the firm wrote, adding that the Venezuela shock “could serve as a near-term catalyst for BTC” partly due to “the disinflationary impulse from lower oil prices.”

QCP noted there has been a reduction in put options skewed “across all tenors.” Meanwhile, more than 3,000 bitcoin call contracts of $100,000 for Jan. 30 have been purchased since last week.

Coinglass data shows that more than 95,730 crypto traders were liquidated over the past 24 hours, with total liquidations topping $256.3 million. Liquidations occur when an exchange forces traders to close leveraged positions due to a loss of margin.

Most of the liquidations have been short positions, at $176.2 million. Bitcoin has seen $76.3 million in short positions exited during that period, while ethereum shorts saw $43.4 million liquidated.

QCP said that there has been “notable demand for topside exposure via straddles, which reflects some short-covering as BTC pushed higher.”

Venezuela has utilized the stablecoin USDT for oil transactions since 2024, according to reports. The country in 2018 launched a state-backed digital currency called Petro, but it was discontinued in 2024.

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