‘There’s so much corruption, embezzlement and missing money’: Venezuela’s rumored $60 billion Bitcoin ‘shadow reserve’ draws skepticism

When Bitcoin first launched in 2009, many investors dismissed the currency as a fringe concept and even as a scam. (Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s former right-hand man at Berkshire Hathaway, memorably called it “stupid and evil.”) But the asset has skyrocketed in value in recent years and President Donald Trump labeled the currency “digital gold” after signing an executive order to create a strategic bitcoin reserve last January. Now, reports allege that Venezuela has bought into that “digital gold,” holding a “shadow reserve” nearly double that of the U.S.

Digital publication Project Brazen reported Saturday that Venezuela could hold an estimated $60 billion worth of Bitcoin. Additional intelligence reports allege that ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his associates accrued Bitcoin via three channels: a gold swap overseen by Venezuelan Interior Minister Alex Saab in 2018, oil revenue priced in Bitcoin, and by seizing crypto mining equipment from miners in th...