Peter Thiel received his first Bitcoin and has been buying ever since

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal and an influential tech investor, received his first Bitcoin on July 27, 2012. While the exact circumstances of how he acquired the Bitcoin are not publicly documented, it is known that Thiel’s venture firm, Founders Fund, had been quietly buying up Bitcoin since 2012. Thiel, with a net worth of over $2.5 billion according to Forbes estimates at the time, suggested that Bitcoin had the potential to become a digital equivalent to gold.
 

Thiel’s engagement with Bitcoin was reflective of his broader investment philosophy, which often focused on innovative and potentially disruptive technologies. His interest in Bitcoin was seen as an endorsement of the cryptocurrency’s potential and helped garner attention from other investors and the media.
 

Founders Fund, under Thiel’s leadership, continued to invest in Bitcoin over the years. The venture capital firm initially bought BTC in 2014 and made significant profits by liquidating its holdings before the 2022 crash, earning approximately $1.8 billion. The firm resumed its Bitcoin investments in the summer of 2023, strategically acquiring Bitcoin when the price was below $30,000.