Peter Thiel – a legendary billionaire investor and the co-founder of PayPal and Palantir Technologies – explained in a recent interview that too many companies have gone “woke,” and are thus at risk of being controlled by the government. However, he doesn’t see bitcoin taking this route.
Peter Thiel Is Confident in the Future of BTC
In his discussion, Thiel also went off on Warren Buffett, calling him an enemy of bitcoin. He said plenty of other unpleasant things about the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway as well, referring to the real estate mogul as the “sociopathic grandpa from Omaha.” He also commented that Buffett’s comments were affecting the bitcoin price.
Thiel made an appearance at the Miami Bitcoin Conference and claimed that fiat currency was useless given that it was backed by the government. He said it is consistently being printed, which is resulting in hardcore inflation today, and he sees fiat as something that will eventually serve little purpose. To prove his point, he threw a wad of $100 bills to someone in the front row and said:
Even being in a stock, you’re effectively being in something that’s like a government-linked entity. Companies — woke companies — are sort of quasi-controlled by the government in a way that bitcoin never will be.
While there, he also showed a video he made in the late 1990s in which he claimed that people would have the internet on their cell phones, something that no doubt seemed impossible at the time, but has since become a common reality. In addition, he also stated that people would be able to access their bank accounts through their cell phones, a maneuver that would likely threaten the authoritarian state of the federal government.
Thiel commented:
The real competitor for bitcoin is not Ethereum. That’s a payment system. It’s not even gold. It’s something like the S&P 500. It’s the stock market. This is the way bitcoin trades every day.
Warren Buffett has clearly made a huge impression on Thiel. In the past, Buffett has referred to bitcoin in rather derogatory terms and has even called it “rat poison squared.” He has also said it has no more use than a button on his shirt.
He Doesn’t Like People Who Go Against BTC
Thiel also attacked individuals like Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and Larry Fink of BlackRock fame, though to be fair, Fink has recently shown signs of changing his mind when it comes to bitcoin. Not long ago, the financial advisor issued a letter to his customers and staff members claiming that BlackRock was potentially going to become more open-minded to crypto in the future. He said:
A global digital payment system, thoughtfully designed, can enhance the settlement of international transactions while reducing the risk of money laundering and corruption. Digital currencies can also help bring down costs of cross-border payments.
