Key Takeaways
- • Founders Fund, the San Francisco venture capital firm led by Peter Thiel, allocated approximately $200 million to crypto from late summer to early fall 2023, according to Reuters, split evenly between Bitcoin and Ether.
- • The reported purchases began when Bitcoin traded below $30,000, and the fund continued accumulating over several months; exact execution prices were not disclosed.
- • The disclosure coincided with Bitcoin pushing above $50,000 for the first time in two years, following a period of insolvencies and bankruptcies across the crypto industry.
- • Founders Fund, which manages more than $12 billion in assets, first entered Bitcoin in 2014 and has historically been a vocal backer of the asset, with Thiel describing himself as a "pro-bitcoin maximalist."
Summary
San Francisco-based venture capital firm Founders Fund has returned to crypto markets, with Reuters reporting on February 12, 2024 that the firm allocated $200 million toward Bitcoin and Ether between late summer and early fall of 2023. According to the report, half the investment went into Bitcoin and half into Ether, based on sources familiar with the matter. The position reportedly began accumulating when Bitcoin traded below $30,000, and the fund continued buying over a few months. The exact prices paid were not disclosed. A spokesperson for Founders Fund did not respond to a request for comment from Cryptonews by press time.
The disclosure arrived as Bitcoin rebounded from a turbulent stretch for the crypto industry, which had seen numerous insolvencies and bankruptcies. The price of Bitcoin moved above $50,000 for the first time in two years during the same week, a development the article notes was a setback for crypto skeptics.
Founders Fund has a longer history with the asset class than the latest allocation suggests. The firm, which has more than $12 billion in assets under management and has backed more than 100 companies including Facebook, Airbnb, SpaceX and Lyft, first entered the Bitcoin market in 2014 when prices were below $1,000 and expanded its position over the following eight years. The firm has also invested in blockchain infrastructure company Paxos and Ethereum scaling network Layer N.
Thiel has consistently championed Bitcoin. He has described himself as a "pro-bitcoin maximalist" and, while expressing skepticism toward most other cryptocurrencies, said in 2018 that "bitcoin ends up being the cyber equivalent of gold, it has great potential." In 2021, at a Stanford University event, he cited Bitcoin trading at $60,000 as a sign that the existing monetary regime was vulnerable.
The disclosure arrived as Bitcoin rebounded from a turbulent stretch for the crypto industry, which had seen numerous insolvencies and bankruptcies. The price of Bitcoin moved above $50,000 for the first time in two years during the same week, a development the article notes was a setback for crypto skeptics.
Founders Fund has a longer history with the asset class than the latest allocation suggests. The firm, which has more than $12 billion in assets under management and has backed more than 100 companies including Facebook, Airbnb, SpaceX and Lyft, first entered the Bitcoin market in 2014 when prices were below $1,000 and expanded its position over the following eight years. The firm has also invested in blockchain infrastructure company Paxos and Ethereum scaling network Layer N.
Thiel has consistently championed Bitcoin. He has described himself as a "pro-bitcoin maximalist" and, while expressing skepticism toward most other cryptocurrencies, said in 2018 that "bitcoin ends up being the cyber equivalent of gold, it has great potential." In 2021, at a Stanford University event, he cited Bitcoin trading at $60,000 as a sign that the existing monetary regime was vulnerable.
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