Peter Thiel Throws Shade on Bitcoin’s Future Price Potential
Peter Thiel, the co-founder of Founders Fund and former CEO of PayPal, has cast doubt on Bitcoin’s (BTC) ability to experience a significant price increase from its current levels. Despite still holding some Bitcoin, Thiel expressed uncertainty about the arrival of new buyers now that the “ETF edition” has arrived.
In a CNBC interview on June 28th, Thiel stated, “I’m not sure it’s going to go up that dramatically from here. We got the ETF edition and I don’t know who else buys it.” He went on to suggest that while Bitcoin might still see some appreciation, the journey will be “volatile and bumpy.”
This sentiment follows Thiel’s previous admission in October 2021 of being “underinvested” in Bitcoin, a time period that coincided with the cryptocurrency’s climb towards its all-time high of $69,000.
Despite his recent skepticism, Thiel’s Founders Fund has a noteworthy history with Bitcoin. Their first investment in the cryptocurrency dates back to 2014, resulting in a substantial $1.8 billion profit before the 2022 market crash. The firm subsequently revisited the asset class in 2023, acquiring another $100 million worth of Bitcoin when it was trading below $30,000.
Thiel also revealed a shift in his perception of Bitcoin’s adherence to cypherpunk ideals. “Where I’m less convinced is this question of the ideological founding vision of Bitcoin as a cypherpunk, crypto-anarchist, libertarian, anti-centralized government thing,” he stated.
Thiel initially embraced Bitcoin for its envisioned role as a decentralized and anti-establishment force. However, his perspective has evolved: “When people in the FBI tell me that they’d much rather have criminals use Bitcoin than $100 bills it suggests that maybe it’s not quite working the way it was supposed to.”
It’s important to remember that Bitcoin, by design, is a public and permissionless ledger. Transactions are inherently traceable, unlike privacy-focused networks like Monero.
At the time of writing, Bitcoin is trading at $60,450, reflecting a 1.8% decline over the past 24 hours.
