PayPal co-founder calls Warren Buffett a sociopath, cryptos'enemy No. 1

Buffett had once infamously compared Bitcoin to "rat poison" as he doubted the value of the cryptocurrency.

ET Now Digital

Updated Apr 8, 2022, 18:14 IST

Warren Buffett

PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has said that Berkshire Hathaway chairman Warren Buffett is a "sociopathic grandpa" who has always been one of the biggest "enemies" of cryptocurrencies.

Buffett had once infamously compared Bitcoin to "rat poison" as he doubted the value of the cryptocurrency.

Thiel, a venture capitalist himself, was speaking at the Bitcoin 2022 conference in Miami. In his keynote speech, the PayPal cofounder called out who he believed are "enemies" of Bitcoin. Thiel named iconic investor Buffett, JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink, according to a Bloomberg report.

He referred the trio as a "gerontocracy" against what he portrayed as a revolutionary cryptocurrency movement.

At the top of his list of crypto enemies was Bitcoin cynic Buffett, who the PayPal founder referred to as a "sociopathic grandpa" and "enemy No. 1".

Thiel’s presentation of the list was the most striking moment in an otherwise straightforwardly pro-crypto, pro-Bitcoin speech given at Miami Bitcoin 2022.

The PayPal co-founder also reportedly criticised central banks around the world for their slow uptake on digital technology. He said at the conference that the increase in Bitcoin’s value over the last several years is “telling us that the central banks are bankrupt. It’s "telling us that we’re at the end of the fiat money regime".

Thiel suggested Bitcoin’s price could still increase 100 times over. But before that, he believes that the cryptocurrency would need to see considerably further adoption driven by large institutions. And that’s where Buffett and the other "enemies" come in.

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