Venezuelan opposition leader and Bitcoin advocate Maria Corina Machado has been announced as the winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. 

Machado, a vociferous and longstanding advocate for decentralized finance and digital assets, is widely regarded as the initial prospective “Bitcoin Nobel” laureate. She has vigorously promoted the cryptocurrency as an essential “lifeline” for citizens ensnared under systemic financial repression.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Machado for her “zealous efforts to promote democratic rights in Venezuela.” But for the tens of millions globally that employ crypto to cushion themselves from hyperinflation and debilitating capital controls, the prize shines a light on her utopian economic vision that bets on decentralized money instead of bribeable state-issued fiat.

Machado took over her X handle to announce the appreciation, citing that her recognition is similar to that of struggles of all Venezuelans, who aim “to conquer Freedom.”

“We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy,” Machado said, adding, “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”

Bitcoin as the New Tool of Resistance

Machado’s campaign is based firmly on the economic disaster in Venezuela, where the bolívar has essentially been debased through hyperinflation that at one point reached 1.7 million percent. She has consistently pointed out that this economic meltdown was the inevitable result of untrammeled money printing and theft by the state.

Against this backdrop, Bitcoin was the sole dependable option. It has made it possible for Venezuelan households to keep value out of the failing national currency, to receive life-saving remittances without state confiscation, and to maintain some degree of financial independence. 

Proposal for a National Bitcoin Reserve

Carrying her advocacy well beyond mere survival, Machado last week made the bold economic proposal that a democratic future Venezuela should include Bitcoin in its national reserves.

This dramatic action, she argues, would restore wealth plundered by the dictatorship and guarantee future budgetary prudence. By adopting Bitcoin’s fundamental philosophy of open, incorruptible public record, the country could mark a fresh start from the financial repression that caused it to fail.

The victory has caused waves in the decentralized finance (DeFi) community, with key players celebrating the win as a signal that decentralized money is fundamentally linked to human rights and the struggle for democracy. 

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