Peter Thiel’s fund closed almost all of its crypto positions shortly before prices crashed last year. Founders Fund made $1.8 billion cashing out its bet on digital assets, the publication said. Thiel predicted bitcoin’s price would surge 100 times around the same time his fund was reportedly selling its crypto holdings.
The fund, known to invest in groundbreaking technologies, built a position in crypto over time. It made its first bitcoin investment in 2014, and a majority of its crypto holdings were made up of the original cryptocurrency, partners of the fund told in march last year.
Thiel made a pro-bitcoin speech just a month after his fund reportedly sold most of its crypto. He said the rise in bitcoin’s price was an implication that the “central banks are bankrupt” and that it signaled “the end of the fiat money regime.” He also spoke out against bitcoin’s critics, calling billionaire investor Warren Buffett “Enemy No.1” and a “sociopathic grandpa from Omaha.”
Founders Fund, which has $11 billion in assets under management, sold a big chunk of its crypto at the end of March 2022, a source told the FT. Bitcoin traded around $41,976 at the time, down around 40% from its all-time high.
That well-timed trade was made before the crash of algorithmic stablecoin TerraUSD (UST) in May, which marked the start of the crypto market carnage. A representative for Founders Fund didn’t return Blockworks’ request for comment by press time.
Notably, Thiel made a pro-bitcoin speech just a month after his fund reportedly sold most of its crypto. He said the rise in bitcoin’s price was an implication that the “central banks are bankrupt” and that it signaled “the end of the fiat money regime.” He also spoke out against bitcoin’s critics, calling billionaire investor Warren Buffett “Enemy No.1” and a “sociopathic grandpa from Omaha.”
Interestingly, Peter Thiel said in April 2022 that he was optimistic about the future of Bitcoin. The billionaire investor had suggested that BTC, which was worth around $44,000 at the time, could rise by 100 times. These comments came just days after his fund had sold its Bitcoin.
The sale of the Founders Fund’s crypto portfolio has not previously been reported. People familiar with the matter told FT that as of now, the fund has no significant exposure to crypto assets. The fund currently has more than $11 billion under management and has invested in popular companies like SpaceX and Lyft.
