Bitcoin dips, but quickly recovers as Venezuela's Maduro captured

Markets Share Share this article Copy link X icon X (Twitter) LinkedIn Facebook Email Bitcoin dips, but quickly recovers as Venezuela's Maduro captured The U.S. overnight launched a military strike against Venezuela, capturing President Nicolas Maduro and his wife and extracting them from the country. By Stephen Alpher Jan 3, 2026, 1:50 p.m. Nicolas Maduro (Getty images) What to know : The U.S. captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife after a brief military operation Saturday morning, according to President Trump. Crypto prices suffered a brief, modest drop on the first reports of the military action, but have since recovered. The U.S. carried out a "large scale" strike against Venezuela and its President Nicolas Maduro, Donald Trump announced early Saturday morning. Maduro and his wife, Trump continued, were captured and flown out of the country. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi later announced that Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, had each been indicted in the Southern District of New York over various drug trafficking and weapons charges. STORY CONTINUES BELOW Don't miss another story. Subscribe to the Crypto Daybook Americas Newsletter today . See all newsletters Sign me up By signing up, you will receive emails about CoinDesk products and you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . Crypto prices took a modest hit around 2 a.m. ET on reports of military operations in Venezuela, with bitcoin BTC $ 89,944.54 dipping about 0.5% to $89,300. At press time, just shy of 9 a.m. ET, BTC had returned to just below $90,000. Venezuela Bitcoin News More For You KuCoin Hits Record Market Share as 2025 Volumes Outpace Crypto Market By CoinDesk Research Dec 22, 2025 Commissioned by KuCoin KuCoin captured a record share of centralised exchange volume in 2025, with more than $1.25tn traded as its volumes grew faster than the wider crypto market. What to know : KuCoin recorded over $1.25 trillion in total trading volume in 2025 , equivalent to an average of roughly $114 billion per month , marking its strongest year on record. This performance translated into an all-time high share of centralised exchange volume , as KuCoin’s activity expanded faster than aggregate CEX volumes , which slowed during periods of lower market volatility. Spot and derivatives volumes were evenly split , each exceeding $500 billion for the year, signalling broad-based usage rather than reliance on a single product line. Altcoins accounted for the majority of trading activity , reinforcing KuCoin’s role as a primary liquidity venue beyond BTC and ETH at a time when majors saw more muted turnover. Even as overall crypto volumes softened mid-year, KuCoin maintained elevated baseline activity , indicating structurally higher user engagement rather than short-lived volume spikes. View Full Report More For You What next for Ripple-linked XRP as price zooms above $2 By Shaurya Malwa , CD Analytics 21 minutes ago Traders are watching if XRP can maintain above $2.00, with $1.96 as a critical support level to avoid a return to previous trading ranges. What to know : XRP surged to $2.02 after breaking through the $1.96 resistance level with strong volume, indicating potential for further gains. The breakout was supported by sustained volume, suggesting larger market participants are involved. Traders are watching if XRP can maintain above $2.00, with $1.96 as a critical support level to avoid a return to previous trading ranges. Read full story Latest Crypto News What next for Ripple-linked XRP as price zooms above $2 21 minutes ago Dogecoin, PEPE rocket as much as 25% as 2026 starts with a bang for memecoins 7 hours ago XRP jumps 8% above $2 as traders bet on a friendlier SEC 7 hours ago Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein credits Trump’s First Step Act for early prison release 19 hours ago Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve share increase ahead of January 14 vote 20 hours ago Bitcoin pushes above $90,000 as traders eye change in pattern 21 hours ago Top Stories Dogecoin, PEPE rocket as much as 25% as 2026 starts with a bang for memecoins 7 hours ago XRP jumps 8% above $2 as traders bet on a friendlier SEC 7 hours ago Bitcoin's squeeze sets stage for major price swing Jan 2, 2026 Bitfinex hacker Ilya Lichtenstein credits Trump’s First Step Act for early prison release 19 hours ago Tom Lee urges BitMine shareholders to approve share increase ahead of January 14 vote 20 hours ago Bitcoin pushes above $90,000 as traders eye change in pattern 21 hours ago In this article BTC BTC $ 89,944.54 ◢ 0.76 %