By The Numbers: Bitcoin Received $200 Million Investment From This Financial Giant

According to a Reuters report, Founders Fund, the venture capital (VC) firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, is once again betting big on the flagship cryptocurrency, Bitcoin. The VC firm is reported to have made significant profits on their last Bitcoin investment and would be hoping that this next market cycle also brings immense rewards. 

From late summer to early fall last year, Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund reportedly invested $200 million in the two largest crypto tokens by market cap, Bitcoin and Ethereum. If so, the VC firm is likely already sitting on unrealized profits, considering these two cryptocurrencies were trading lower during that period. 

Notably, the BTC price is known to have traded below $30,000 towards the end of summer last year and only rose above that level sometime in October. Meanwhile, although the average prices of Founders Fund’s Bitcoin purchases could not be ascertained, BTC has been trading at its highest level since 2021.

Interestingly, Founders Fund is said to have made about $1.8 billion in returns on their previous investment in Bitcoin. The Financial Times reported how the VC firm began investing in the crypto token as far back as 2014 and went to liquidate most of its BTC holdings in March 2022, just before the crypto winter started in full force. 

Peter Thiel, the co-founder of PayPal and one of the earliest investors in Facebook, is known to be a long-time Bitcoin advocate. He once explained how the flagship crypto token could provide a safe haven for investors and described it as a “hedge” against the “world falling apart.” Thiel also belonged to the school that believed Bitcoin could eventually replace Gold. 

When Bitcoin hit its all-time high at the height of the 2021 bull run, Thiel also admitted that he was underinvested in the crypto token. He said he should have bought more BTC rather than hesitating because he thought “everybody already knew the secret.”

The billionaire has also described himself at some point as a “pro-crypto, pro-Bitcoin maximalist.” His affinity for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies generally also stems from his political philosophy of libertarianism, as he sees these virtual currencies as a “force for decentralization.”

Cover image from Dall-E, chart from Tradingview