Founders Fund, the venture capital firm founded by billionaire Peter Thiel, has invested $100 million in bitcoin, sources exclusively informed Reuters. The firm allocated $200 million to acquire Bitcoin and another cryptocurrency, evenly split between the two. This maneuver further highlights the return of institutional investors to Bitcoin, once the favored strategy before the crypto market crash of 2022.
Founders Fund, an early institutional investor in bitcoin, initially bought BTC in 2014 but liquidated its holdings before the 2022 crash, earning approximately $1.8 billion. The firm resumed its bitcoin investments last summer, strategically acquiring bitcoin and another cryptocurrency when price was below $30,000.
Thiel, known for his libertarian views and co-founding PayPal and Palantir, has publicly endorsed bitcoin, praising its attributes as a store of value and hedge against central bank policies. With assets exceeding $12 billion under management, Founders Fund continues to expand its investment portfolio, with a renewed focus on crypto ventures.
This resurgence comes after a challenging period for the Bitcoin market in 2022, marked by the collapse of major players like crypto exchange FTX. Despite bitcoin’s price plunging to nearly $15,000, its lowest since 2020, the Bitcoin market has seen a gradual recovery, with bitcoin recently hitting $50,000 for the first time in over two years, albeit still below its peak of $69,000 in November 2021.