SEC chair noncommittal on seizing Venezuela’s alleged BTC reserves

U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chair Paul Atkins has taken a noncommittal stance on the possibility of the U.S. seizing Bitcoin allegedly held by Venezuela, Cointelegraph reported. Speaking to Fox Business, Atkins addressed claims that Venezuela may hold as much as $60 billion in BTC. He said he could not verify the authenticity of those reports and that it remains unclear what action the U.S. would take if such an opportunity arose. Speculation about a secret vault of BTC and USDT—allegedly used by Venezuela to evade international sanctions—intensified after the U.S. captured President Nicolás Maduro. While some estimates place the country’s holdings as high as $60 billion, officially confirmed on-chain reserves amount to only about 240 BTC.