Pro-Bitcoin Nobel laureate a top contender for Venezuelan presidency

Following the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro, prominent Bitcoin supporter Maria Corina Machado is being discussed as a leading candidate for the country's next leader, Cointelegraph reported. Machado, a Venezuelan human rights activist and political leader, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last year. She has previously described Bitcoin as a lifeline for Venezuelans and a technology for freedom, suggesting it could solve poverty by protecting property rights, ensuring low inflation, and providing equal opportunities. According to the U.S. prediction market platform Kalshi, Machado has a 28% chance of becoming Venezuela's next leader, placing her second. The frontrunner, with a 32% probability, is Edmundo González Urrutia, an opposition leader who ran in last year's presidential election and is now in exile following allegations of election fraud.