Crypto markets steady as Trump claims US has captured Venezuela’s president

Bitcoin and other digital assets showed little reaction after President Donald Trump confirmed that American forces had launched a major strike in Venezuela and captured President Nicolás Maduro.

In remarks issued on Saturday, Trump said he would brief reporters at Mar-a-Lago later in the day, and emphasized that the operation was undertaken in cooperation with US law enforcement.

Tensions between the US and Venezuela have been escalating for months, as Washington has accused President Maduro of drug trafficking and stepped up sanctions and military pressure, including naval blockades on sanctioned oil tankers.

Maduro had previously expressed openness to a dialogue with the US on combating drug trafficking.

The mounting pressure campaign set the backdrop for a dramatic turn on January 3, when blasts and low-flying planes were reported over Caracas, the Venezuelan capital, and several surrounding states.

The government blamed the US for attacks on civilian and military sites, declared an emergency, and denounced what it called “American aggression.”

Bitcoin retreated below $90,000 when headlines broke, but the pullback stopped short of a deeper slide, per CoinGecko. The crypto asset was trading at $89,772 at the time of reporting.

Ethereum mirrored the pattern, dipping toward $3,000 before recovering to $3,100, and XRP bounced back above $2 after briefly trading near $1.9.

This is a developing story.