Alex Saab didn’t start as a power broker.

He started small—import-export work, trading companies, paperwork businesses that barely registered outside Colombia.

Then Venezuela broke.

When Maduro lost access to banks, dollars, and normal trade, Saab found his edge.

He understood shell companies. He understood arbitrage. Most of all, he understood how to move money when the formal system stops working.

You’ve probably heard a lot about Tether and Bitcoin in relation to Maduro…

But there’s a piece to this story everyone’s missing.

It explains why crypto keeps showing up in places where institutions fail—and why it doesn’t go away when the headlines fade.

Let’s start from the top.

Maduro’s Banker

Saab first learned how to game the system through government contracts.

In the early 2010s, he won deals to supply prefab housing for Venezuelan state programs. (U.S. prosecutors later alleged the contracts were inflated, delivery was thin, and payments were routed through foreign companies.)

The mechanics mattered more than the product. Saab learned how approvals worked—and how money quietly left the country.

When the economy deteriorated and food shortages surged, Saab moved into food aid.

He became a major supplier to the state-run CLAP program, importing low-cost food and reportedly selling it back to the government at insane markups.

The program ultimately opened foreign-currency channels the state otherwise lacked. Saab’s role grew with his wealth.

Then, as U.S. sanctions tightened and banks became unusable, Saab was part of the network that helped the regime turn to gold. Venezuelan gold was exported to Turkey and the Gulf, refined or sold, and traded for fuel or cash.

In 2018 alone, Venezuela reportedly exported roughly 73 tons of the Midas metal—about $2.7 billion at the time.

(Saab was sanctioned for his role in networks connected to these transactions.)

But then, by 2019–2020, Venezuelan gold exports were heavily scrutinized and sanctioned. Oil still flowed, but payments slowed. Intermediaries stepped in. Offshore structures multiplied.

Stablecoins—especially USDT—became a settlement rail because they worked when nothing else did.

At certain points, up to ~80% of Venezuela’s oil revenue was likely routed through Tether-based systems, according to investigations.

All of that is pretty well documented.

The rest is murkier.

A Double Agent’s Bitcoin

In June 2020, Saab was arrested in Cabo Verde during a refueling stop on his way to Iran. DOJ charges followed—and then a revelation.

Court filings later revealed that he had previously cooperated with the DEA, disclosing bribes and forfeiting millions, even as he continued doing business.

(That cooperation abruptly ended before his arrest, after which the case moved forward.)

He was extradited, then released in a 2023 prisoner swap and returned to Caracas a hero. Maduro embraced him. Saab was named industry minister.

Now the $60B question. 

Where’s the Bitcoin?

Much of the speculation about Venezuela’s Bitcoin holdings traces back to reporting by the Whale Hunting investigative team, which suggests the country went beyond quick-and-dirty crypto use and may have built a dedicated pipeline.

According to the investigators, proceeds from gold and oil were routed through intermediaries in Turkey and the UAE, then converted into cryptocurrency, obscured through mixers, and stored in cold wallets.

Access to the wallets is believed to be tightly controlled, distributed across jurisdictions, with Saab as central to the system’s design and access. Depending on assumptions, upper-bound estimates place the potential value as high as $60 billion.

What is confirmed is more limited: Tether has frozen more than $180 million in USDT believed to be linked to Venezuelan networks.

Beyond that, visibility drops off quickly.

With Maduro now in custody and the regime’s future uncertain, the unresolved question isn’t whether crypto was used…

It’s how much value remains out of sight, and whether any of it will ever surface in a way authorities can prove.

The Part Everyone Misses

This story carries no shortage of intrigue…

But the real story is the order of discovery. People on the ground found alternatives first. The regime arrived much later.

When banks failed, cash disappeared, and the bolívar collapsed, ordinary Venezuelans didn’t wait.

They reached for whatever worked—stablecoins, Bitcoin, informal rails—anything that let value move when institutions couldn’t.

By the time the state leaned into crypto settlement, the infrastructure was already there. Built from below. Tested under stress. Proven in daily life.

Analysts focus on what Maduro did. The real signal was what Venezuelans did first.

They didn’t need to attend a crypto conference. They needed groceries, rent, remittances, and continuity.

Once alternatives exist, behaviors change. When behaviors change, paradigms begin to shift.

The regime learned crypto was useful. The people learned they had options.

History typically favors the side that learns that lesson first.

More tomorrow.