Trump claims Venezuelan President Maduro was captured after US strike, but Bitcoin and altcoins remain resilient.
- Venezuela has accused the United States of attacking residential areas in Caracas, while regional leaders have called for restraint despite limited details.
- Bitcoin held near $89,000 and major altcoins gained despite the escalation.
- Polymarket prediction markets have shown increased uncertainty, with probabilities fluctuating on U.S. military involvement and timelines for Venezuelan leadership change.
On Saturday morning, US military helicopters struck key locations in Venezuela’s capital Caracas, including areas near the Fuerte Tiuna military base. Reports of explosions and power outages spread across parts of the city.
Donald J. Trump wrote on social media that the United States had carried out a “full-scale strike” against Venezuela. He also said President Nicolas Maduro and his wife had been captured and expelled from the country in an operation involving U.S. law enforcement. Trump said more information would be given during a news conference at Mar-a-Lago at 11 a.m. ET.
The Venezuelan government called the strikes an act of aggression and accused Washington of trying to take control of the country’s oil resources. Colombian President Gustavo Petro and Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, among others, have called for help and restraint from the international community, but there have still been no clear reports on casualties or the true scale of the operation.
Venezuela said the United States hit residential areas in a series of strikes early Saturday and sent numerous military resources to the region.
Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez said in a video statement shared on social media that “invading” US forces have desecrated our territory by attacking civilian areas with missiles and rockets fired from their combat helicopters.
How Crypto Markets React
Despite the strong geopolitical disruptions, cryptocurrency markets remained in the green. Bitcoin (BTC) was hovering around $89,000. On Stocktwits, Bitcoin was trending at number 1, as retail sentiment moved from “bearish” territory to “neutral” territory. Chat around the room also improved from “low” to “normal” levels over the past day. On the other hand, major tokens like Ethereum (ETH), Ripple’s XRP (XRP), and Solana (SOL) all saw gains.
Forecast markets also showed increased uncertainty about the situation. On Polymarket, traders quickly changed their positions related to the Venezuela-related results after Trump’s statement. Markets assessing whether U.S. troops would be involved in Venezuela or whether Maduro would lose power just before 2026 have fluctuated wildly, with some contracts incorporating almost a guarantee of changeover dates and others still assigning less likely odds for long-term U.S. military action.
Historically, research shows that cryptocurrency markets reacted poorly to the onset of war, with liquidity and returns declining as the severity of the war intensified. Peer-reviewed study shows escalating war has hurt liquidity in crypto markets. However, trading sometimes resumed thereafter as markets adapted.
Read also: Bitcoin turns 17 as spot ETFs suffer historic losses
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