US Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Paul Atkins said today that it remains unclear whether the US government will move to seize the much-discussed Bitcoin holdings rumored to be linked to Venezuela, an uncertainty that comes as Washington seeks to bring greater regulatory clarity to digital asset markets.
Atkins told Fox Business The issue of pursuing the so-called Venezuela Bitcoin stash — variously estimated at about 600,000 BTC, or about $56 billion to $67 billion in current prices — is “remaining to be seen” and is being handled by other parts of the administration.
“I’ll leave that to others to deal with. That’s not my focus,” Atkins said, stressing that asset forfeiture is not currently a priority for the SEC.
Rumors in crypto and intelligence circles have pointed to a massive “shadow reserve” of Bitcoin allegedly accumulated by the Venezuelan government through gold sales, oil deals settled in stablecoins and other transactions dating back to 2018.
If verified and under US control, such a reserve would be among the largest Bitcoin holdings globally.
But independent blockchain analysts note that there is still no verifiable on-chain evidence linking wallets containing such amounts to the Venezuelan government, and publicly traceable addresses associated with government entities reflect only a small fraction of the rumored holdings.
Bitcoin and CLARITY Act Update
Atkins quickly pivoted from the Venezuela issue to highlight ongoing legislative efforts in Congress aimed at clarifying the regulatory framework for digital assets.
“This week is an important week because the Senate is taking up a bipartisan bill that will bring clarity and security to the crypto world,” he said, referring to a measure designed to delineate oversight responsibilities between the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).
The bill — supported by members of both parties and expected to be marked up this week — represents the next step in positioning the United States as a global leader in digital asset markets, Atkins said.
He also cited the Genius Act, passed late last year, as the first statute to formally recognize cryptoassets under US law, crediting it with helping to bring regulatory clarity to the stablecoin framework.
Atkins expressed optimism that with clearer rules, markets will gain much-needed certainty around products and oversight.
He noted ongoing cooperation with the new CFTC chairman and reiterated the SEC’s commitment to enforcing future rules once they are adopted.
While ethical issues surrounding public officials and crypto business interests remain under the purview of Congress, Atkins said the immediate priority is a regulatory regime that reduces market ambiguity and supports investor confidence.