PANews reported on January 13th that, according to Cointelegraph, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Chairman Paul Atkins did not rule out the possibility of the U.S. seizing Bitcoin held by Venezuela when asked about the possibility. Previous reports indicated that Venezuela holds up to $60 billion worth of Bitcoin (approximately 600,000 coins), but several analysts stated they could not verify this figure.

Atkins responded that what action the U.S. would take if given the opportunity to seize the Bitcoins "remains to be seen," adding that he was not involved in the decision-making process. Previously, the U.S. military, acting on President Trump's orders, arrested Venezuelan President Maduro and extradited him to New York to face criminal charges.