Cryptocurrencies were one of the key holdings of Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund. According to the Financial Times, two-thirds of the fund’s cryptocurrency holdings consisted of Bitcoin (BTC). The fund first purchased BTC in 2014, when the asset traded under $1000. Thiel’s firm then increased its holdings over eight years. By March 2022, the firm sold most of its cryptocurrency holdings, earning it an eye-watering $1.8 billion.
The Fund sold its digital asset holdings before the summer crash of 2022. However, Thiel did not mention his firm’s massive sell-off while speaking at the Bitcoin Conference in Miami in April 2022. Nonetheless, during his speech, Thiel did say that we are nearing the end of the fiat money regime.
Between 2020 and the end of the previous year, Founders Fund repaid nearly $13 billion to investors as a result of its Bitcoin (BTC) selloff and departures from long-held firms. The company now manages over $11 billion worth of assets.
Did Thiel’s sell-off contribute to Bitcoin’s crash in 2022?
2022 was one of the worst years in cryptocurrency history. The entire industry was rocked by shockwaves resulting in one of the worst sell-offs. One of the major incidents was the large-scale selling from institutions. Thiel’s Founders Fund sold its holdings just months before the tragic summer crash. It is possible that Thiel’s firm saw the writings about an incoming crash and took the necessary steps to stay ahead of the curve. Nonetheless, other firms were not as fortunate.
Having purchased BTC in 2014, Founders Fund has enjoyed an extremely profitable run. Nonetheless, Thiel has been quoted saying that his biggest regret is getting into Bitcoin “late.” Over the previous year, Bitcoin (BTC) lost nearly 60% of its value. Moreover, BTC has fallen by 69.9% from its all-time high of $69,044.77, attained in November 2021.
At press time, BTC was trading at $20,800.01, down by 1.8% in the last 24 hours.