Peter Thiel Pumps Bitcoin, Calls Warren Buffett A ‘Sociopathic Grandpa’

Peter Thiel, the lightning-rod venture capitalist, offered up what he called an “enemies list” on Thursday, his attempt to call out anti-crypto investors while speaking at a prominent cryptocurrency conference in Miami, a crypto hot spot.

“Let’s expose them,” he told the crowd.

At the top of Thiel’s roll: Warren Buffett, who Thiel referred to as a “sociopathic grandpa” for Buffett’s previous comments casting doubt on the value of crypto. “Enemy No. 1,” he said, glancing up at a blown-up image of Buffett. In addition to Buffett, Thiel decried JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink. “They need to be allocating some of their money to bitcoin,” he said. “We need to push back on them.”

Thiel’s presentation of the list was the most striking moment in an otherwise straightforwardly pro-crypto, pro-bitcoin speech given at Bitcoin 2022, a large annual gathering of crypto supporters in Miami Beach. Thiel also criticized central banks around the world, slamming them for their slow uptake on digital technology. The increase in bitcoin’s value over the last several years is “telling us that the central banks are bankrupt,” he said. It’s “telling us that we’re at the end of the fiat money regime.”

Thiel has been thinking about virtual money for a while. He cofounded PayPal in 1998, then departed to run a series of investment firms, including Founders Fund. Thursday’s appearance was a rare recent moment in the public spotlight. Thiel has stepped away from investing and from high-profile moments like these, focusing his efforts instead on Republican politics.

But the Bitcoin 2022 conference is on his home turf. He owns a bayside mansion a few minutes away, and his Founders Fund has become one of the loudest cheerleaders for Miami as it has tried to position itself as an emerging tech hub during the pandemic. In particular, a haven for crypto obsessives like Thiel.

Thiel suggested bitcoin’s price could still increase 100 times over—it currently trades at $43,665, off more than 30% from highs reached last November. But before it gets to something like $4.3 million a coin, the cryptocurrency would need to see considerably further adoption driven by large institutions, Thiel said. And that’s where Buffett and the other “enemies” come in. They have enough clout to forestall any such shift.

Thiel further framed the debate as an argument between the old (anti-crypto) and the young (pro-crypto). “It’s a revolutionary moment,” he said. “We have to go out from this conference and take over the world.”