The year 2026 began with a political and economic shock. The United States launched a swift operation against Venezuela, bombing its capital, Caracas, and detaining Nicolas Maduro and his wife.
Following the attack, Trump announced that the United States would take control of the country's oil industry; Venezuela's oil reserves are estimated at more than 300 billion barrels, worth more than $17 trillion.
The actions have heightened political tensions. Democrats, including Chuck Schumer, have called the attack “reckless,” and the odds of Trump being impeached have risen on some prediction platforms, though a closer analysis of the data shows the odds of impeachment have fallen slightly by the end of 2026.
The cryptocurrency market also reacted quickly, with
Bitcoin prices crossing $91,000 for the first time since mid-December.
Trump-related tokens also saw significant gains; World Liberty Financial (WLFI) rose more than 16%, and Trump memecoin (TRUMP) rejoined the top 100 altcoins with a 7.5% gain.
These developments show that geopolitical and political news can quickly change investor sentiment and liquidity flows in the crypto market.
