Reports say she has also become one of Latin America’s most public supporters of Bitcoin, calling the cryptocurrency a “lifeline” for Venezuelans coping with strict currency controls and runaway inflation.
The Nobel Committee’s decision puts Machado at the center of both political and economic debates. According to the committee, her work has rallied many Venezuelans against repression.
At the same time, Machado has described Bitcoin as a tool people used to protect savings, send remittances, and avoid state-controlled exchange rates. That claim was made during a 2024 interview with the Human Rights Foundation.
For the first time in history, the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to a Bitcoiner.
Venezuela’s economy entered a deep crisis after 2016 and through the next several years, with hyperinflation and a sharp drop in output. Reports show years of runaway prices and a steep fall in the bolívar’s value, driving many families to seek foreign currency or alternative stores of value. Large numbers of people left the country and many more relied on informal markets and remittances from abroad.
Based on reports and interviews, ordinary Venezuelans used Bitcoin not as a speculative asset but as a working solution to daily problems. It helped some to move money across borders when official channels were closed or unreliable.
Machado and other activists have argued that peer-to-peer crypto markets can let people access funds without going through state-controlled systems.
Machado’s international profile has brought allies and critics. Reports note contacts between opposition figures and senior US officials, and observers say Machado has ties with US conservatives, including US President Donald Trump and Secretary of State Marco Rubio.
Machado has denied that her movement is directed from abroad and she has framed outside support as solidarity with Venezuelan citizens facing repression.
Buyers later stepped in and prices climbed back toward about $115,110, an intraday rebound that left Bitcoin up more than 3% on the day in some reports.
Featured image from NewsX, chart from TradingView
