War moves markets ⚠️

PLUS: Bitcoin spikes on Venezuela strikes, ETFs surge, prediction markets explode, and geopolitics re-enter crypto pricing

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Cryptopolitan News
January 05, 2026 • Estimated Reading Time: 8 minutes

🇻🇪 Bitcoins soared to $93K following Trump attacks on Venezuela.

Markets had bombs and Bitcoin for breakfast.

​At 2:20AM on January 9, the United States struck Venezuela’s capital, Caracas beginning with directed energy weapons. A move ordered by Donald Trump following the capture of Nicolás Maduro. A few hours later, Bitcoin soared past $93,000. Gold spiked. Oil soared. And the crypto markets went into chaos mode.

To sum it up:

  • Maduro was taken into custody by the opposing forces with support of rogue military.

  • Trump cheered the coup but told his military advisers he wanted to launch “targeted strikes” on Caracas in order to “protect American investments.”

  • The White House also warned that Cuba, Colombia and Mexico could be next if they “follow Venezuela’s path.”

Why did Bitcoin move so much?

In periods of geopolitical crisis, Bitcoin often functions as a digital hedge, particularly in countries where currencies are reeling or capital controls are being tightened.

But this was not only a Venezuelan story.

Here’s what happened next:

  • ETFs add $471M: the largest daily inflow since mid-November.

  • The volume of stablecoins in Latin America reached new highs.

  • Prediction markets boomed, and there were reports of traders wagering millions based on insider intel things called “Venezula Strike” events.

🧐 Quick explainer: What happened with prediction markets?

On Polymarket, several “Will the US bomb Venezuela?” markets were flush with liquidity days before the strike. Multiple wallets betting hundreds of thousands of dollars to six figures in the minutes before the attack were discovered, having raised questions about insider trading.

Is this Bitcoin’s new cycle driving force?

Forget the halving. This rally was not driven by miners or ETF hype. It was motivated by war, turmoil, and capital flight, a situation in which BTC excels.

And prepare for more retail FOMO if tensions across Latin America spread. Especially if places like Colombia or Mexico begin experiencing capital controls or inflationary pressures.

Cryptopolitan’s take

That is the first real “macro moment” for Bitcoin in 2026. It’s chaotic, fast-moving and eerily familiar. Ukraine to Venezuela, Bitcoin keeps demonstrating its the exit ramp, not just for traders and citizens, but nation states.

But there is another thing you should remember: chaos trades don’t continue indefinitely. Watch how the ETF crowd behaves if oil and equities pull back.

POLL: Is this rally the start of a bigger Bitcoin breakout?

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📊 Market Watch

📈 Bitcoin-backed presidential hope in Venezuela

With Maduro’s arrest, Bitcoin supporter and Nobel Peace Prize contender María Corina Machado is one of the top candidates to replace him as a leader in Venezuela.

She is behind only Edmundo González Urrutia, at 28 per cent on Kalshi. Machado has always been a strong supporter of Bitcoin as an instrument for financial independence and political change, having advocated using it as a reserve.

🛢️ Trump to Big Oil: You want compensation? Rebuild Venezuela

Trump is demanding US oil giants return to Venezuela and invest big if they want reparations for assets seized decades ago. The country has $17.3T worth of oil reserves, but a production hellhole.

Trump’s message? Pay up, dig in and maybe we’ll talk about compensation.

🇪🇺 Europe to Trump: We’re not backing down

The EU is forging ahead with Digital Services and Markets Act enforcement, investigating Meta, Google and X despite US pressure. The US, for its part, responded with visa bans on five EU officials after fining X €120M.

Brussels is not being swayed: they’re not going to overturn their rules just because America doesn’t like them.

 👀 Chart our Analyst is watching

XRP kicked off 2026 by overtaking BNB to become the third-largest crypto by market cap, a position it also snatched multiple times in 2025 during key rallies.

At $2.14 at the time of writing, XRP is still down from last July’s ATH of $3.55, but sentiment extremes are back.

📊 The State of on-chain activity in 2025

Our new report breaks down where real adoption kept growing even in a sideways market.
👉 Read the full report for free

 🐥 Top tweets

🎭 Culture Watch

The Nike Tech Fleece jacket worn by Nicolás Maduro during his capture has sold out in almost every size.

Politics met streetwear, and the internet did what it always does.

Monday headline picks

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