REUTERS/ Fred Prouser
- Peter Thiel recently announced a bitcoin “enemies list” that included Warren Buffett, Jamie Dimon, and Larry Fink.
- He described Buffett — who has repeatedly dismissed bitcoin — as “enemy No. 1.”
- Some crypto experts told us Thiel may not exactly be right because many investors don’t follow old-school wisdom.
Tech investor Peter Thiel recently lashed out at influential people he described as bitcoin’s “enemies,” saying their anti-crypto stance is holding back the leading digital asset’s success.
During his keynote speech at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami, he said billionaire investor Warren Buffett was “enemy No. 1” and called him a “sociopathic grandpa from Omaha.”
Thiel also cast JPMorgan chief executive Jamie Dimon and BlackRock chairman Larry Fink as part of a “finance gerontocracy” — a society run by old people.
“This is what we have to fight for… for bitcoin to go 10x or 100x from here,” said Thiel, who has made crypto-related investments personally and via VC firms he’s helped establish, including the Founders Fund.
Here’s how six crypto experts reacted:
Anthony Scaramucci, founder and managing partner of SkyBridge Capital
“While the ‘financial gerontocracy’ of Warren Buffet, Jamie Dimon, and Larry Fink is a real phenomenon, it is not an impediment to another bitcoin bull cycle. Bitcoin is a democratic asset, and we’re seeing consumer demand force institutions like JPMorgan and BlackRock to build out bitcoin and crypto services for clients. Just this week, Fink himself noted strong consumer demand for bitcoin, and BlackRock invested in Circle’s $400 million round.
Bitcoin is in search of its next large marginal buyer, which will come in the form of large asset allocators when we have more regulatory clarity on how digital assets will be treated.”
Staci Warden, CEO of the Algorand Foundation
“Thiel’s response to bitcoin skepticism has some truth, in that the leaders of traditional finance have been too slow to recognize the legitimacy of bitcoin as a digital store of value. But his maximalist view (the belief that bitcoin is the only cryptocurrency that will matter in the future) in the end suffers from the same lack of vision as those whom he attacks.”
Peter Eberle, president and chief investment officer of Castle Funds
“What do Warren Buffet, Jamie Dimon, and Larry Fink have in common? They work for some of the largest middlemen in the world. Why would they support bitcoin? It makes them obsolete. Warren Buffett investments are focused on middlemen businesses. Businesses where you need to hire a middleman who gets paid a commission – insurance, real estate, banking etc. I am not surprised that Warren Buffet opposes bitcoin, it makes him obsolete.”
Mark Fidelman, founder at SmartBlocks
“While I admire Warren Buffet and have followed his philosophy for stock investing for decades, Buffet is a financial geriatrician who primarily cares for the old way of investing, and not the new. I do agree with Thiel, and will add that we need a Crypto Buffet to plainly explain to the masses how investing in crypto is a solid long term value strategy.”
Budd White, cofounder and chief product officer of Tacen
“Blockchain technology is maturing and gaining credibility in traditional financial circles, and more than 1 in 4 young investors are now investing in cryptocurrencies. How did this happen? It certainly wasn’t because the world was hanging onto the words of old-school investors for a new-age digital currency. The world Buffett, Dimon, and Fink made their millions in has changed – and it’s clear that adopters and investors no longer need the blessing of the old guard to feel comfortable dipping their toes in bitcoin.”
Marie Tatibouet, chief marketing officer at Gate.io
“Well, Buffet invested a billion dollars in Nubank – a financial institution that’s famous for being bitcoin-friendly. Dimon may hate crypto all he wants, but didn’t JPMorgan just release a metaverse lounge on Decentraland?
So, the bottom line is that they can say what they want, but money-making opportunities will dictate their actions. But, as things stand, their actions are definitely supporting the crypto ecosystem.”
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