Beautiful Virgin Islands

Friday, Aug 08, 2025

Peter Thiel: Bitcoin will 'never be' controlled by government, unlike 'woke companies'

Peter Thiel: Bitcoin will 'never be' controlled by government, unlike 'woke companies'

Thiel made the comment at the Bitcoin 2022 conference, where he explained the difference between fiat money and cryptocurrency

PayPal and Palantir Technologies co-founder Peter Thiel said Thursday that Bitcoin will "never be" controlled by the government, unlike "woke companies."

Thiel made the comment at the Bitcoin 2022 conference, where he explained the difference between fiat — or government-backed — money and cryptocurrency. He threw a wad of $100 bills to someone in the first row of the audience to make his point.

"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," he said.

The tech investor opened his remarks with a video from 1999 in which he makes the claims that "everyone in the middle class" and the "developing world" would eventually have "internet-enabled cellphones" — an idea that seemed impossible to some at the time. He went on to predict that access to bank accounts via cell phones would threaten authoritarian governments.

Today, Thiel and other cryptocurrency investors argue that Bitcoin is the solution to such power because it is not controlled by anyone except those who own it.

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, holds hundred dollar bills as he speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida.


"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 as a whole. This is the way Bitcoin trades every day," said Thiel, who made his name, in part, by being the first outside investor in Facebook.

While it is "always hard" to envision the future of Bitcoin, Thiel continued, he believes Bitcoin is the "most honest" and "most efficient" market in the world, calling it "the canary in the coal mine" that predicted record-high inflation.

The venture capitalist also listed CEOs Jamie Dimon, Warren Buffet and Larry Fink as the "enemies" of Bitcoin, saying they have an "institutional bias" against the world's most popular cryptocurrency. He likened Wall Street to geriatrics and cryptocurrency to youth.

Peter Thiel, co-founder of PayPal, Palantir Technologies, and Founders Fund, holds hundred dollar bills as he speaks during the Bitcoin 2022 Conference at Miami Beach Convention Center on April 7, 2022 in Miami, Florida.


An estimated 25,000 people flooded to the Bitcoin 2022 conference in South Beach, Miami, to learn more about cyrptocurrency and fintech companies, network with like-minded individuals, and discuss the future of Bitcoin as a mainstream form of currency.

Miami has been dubbed the "crypto capital" of the United States and even the world as it attracts a growing number of tech entrepreneurs, investors and startups.

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Increases Reward for Arrest of Venezuelan President Maduro to Fifty Million Dollars
Armenia and Azerbaijan to Sign US-Brokered Framework Agreement for Nakhchivan Corridor
British Labour Government Utilizes Counter-Terrorism Tools for Social Media Monitoring Against Legitimate Critics
OpenAI Launches GPT‑5, Its Most Advanced AI Model Yet
Embarrassment in Britain: Homelessness Minister Evicted Tenants and Forced to Resign
President Trump nominated Stephen Miran, his top economic adviser and a critic of the Federal Reserve, to temporarily fill an open Fed seat
The AI-Powered Education Revolution: Market Potential and Transformative Impact
Chikungunya Virus Outbreak in Southern China: Over 7,000 Hospitalized
French wine makers have seen catastrophic damage to vines that were almost ready to be harvested after the worst fires in more than 70 years burned through the south of the country
US Lawmaker Probes Intel CEO’s China Ties Amid National Security Concerns
Brazilian President Lula says he’ll contact the leaders of BRICS states to propose a unified response to U.S. tariffs
Trump Open to Meeting Putin as Soon as Next Week, with Possible Trilateral Summit Including Zelenskiy
Katy Perry and Justin Trudeau spark dating rumors, joining high stakes world of celeb-politician romances
US envoy Steve Witkoff arrived in Moscow to seek a breakthrough in the Ukraine war ahead of President Trump’s peace deadline
WhatsApp Deletes 6.8 Million Scam Accounts Amid Rising Global Fraud
Nine people have been hospitalized and dozens of salmonella cases have been reported after an outbreak of infections linked to certain brands of pistachios and pistachio-containing products, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada
Karol Nawrocki Inaugurated as Poland’s President, Setting Stage for Clash with Tusk Government
Trump Signals JD Vance as ‘Most Likely’ MAGA Successor for 2028
US Charges Two Chinese Nationals for Illegal Nvidia AI Chip Exports
Texas Residents Face Water Restrictions While AI Data Centers Consume Millions of Gallons
U.S. Tariff Policy Triggers Market Volatility Amid Growing Global Trade Tensions
Tariffs, AI, and the Shifting U.S. Macro Landscape: Navigating a New Economic Regime
Representative Greene Urges H-1B Visa Cuts Amid U.S.-India Trade Tensions
U.S. House Committee Subpoenas Clintons and Senior Officials in Epstein Investigation
Sydney Sweeney Registered as Republican as Controversial American Eagle Ad Sparks Debate
Trump Accuses Major Banks of Politically Motivated Account Denials and Prepares Executive Order
TikTok Removes Huda Kattan Video Over Anti-Israel Conspiracy Claims
Trump Threatens Tariffs on India Over Russian Oil Imports
German Finance Minister Criticizes Trump’s Attacks on Institutions
U.S. Proposes Visa Bond of Up to $15,000 for Some Applicants
U.S. Farmers Increase Lobbying Amid Immigration Crackdown
Elon Musk Receives $23.7 Billion Tesla Stock Award
Texas House Paralyzed After Democrats Walk Out Over Redistricting
Mexican Cartels Complicate Sheinbaum’s U.S. Security Talks
Mark Zuckerberg Declares War on the iPhone
India Rejects U.S. Tariff Threat, Defends Russian Oil Purchases
United States Establishes Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and Digital Asset Stockpile
Thousands of Private ChatGPT Conversations Accidentally Indexed by Google
China Tightens Mineral Controls, Curtailing Critical Inputs for Western Defence Contractors
OpenAI’s Bold Bet: Teaching AI to Think, Not Just Chat
Tesla Seeks Shareholder Approval for $29 Billion Compensation Package for Elon Musk
Nvidia is cutting prices on its RTX 50-series graphics cards after sales slowed and inventories piled up
Ghislaine Maxwell Transferred to Minimum-Security Prison Amid Ongoing DOJ Discussions
U.S. Tariffs Surge to Highest Levels in Nearly a Century Under Second Trump Term
Matt Taibbi Slams Media for Role in Russiagate Narrative
Pilots Call for Mental Health Support Without Stigma
All Five Trapped Miners Found Dead After El Teniente Mine Collapse
Ong Beng Seng Pleads Guilty in Corruption Case Linked to Former Singapore Transport Minister
BP’s Largest Oil and Gas Find in 25 Years Uncovered Offshore Brazil
Italy Fines Shein One Million Euros for Misleading Sustainability Claims
×