Author: Zen, PANews
The U.S.-listed mining company BitMine has attracted widespread attention for becoming the world's largest corporate holder of Ethereum. With the disclosure of on-chain data, there has been a new round of discussion on the role and influence of institutions in the allocation of crypto assets. Besides Tom Lee, the chairman of BitMine's board, who has always been in the media spotlight for his fervent support of ETH, another name has frequently been mentioned behind this heat—Peter Thiel.
As one of the most controversial and forward-looking investors in Silicon Valley, Thiel showed interest in Bitcoin and decentralized potential early on and has made multiple bets in the crypto industry through his fund. Thiel's investment trajectory not only reflects his judgment of future technological trends but also to some extent shapes the landscape of today's crypto market.
Godfather of the PayPal Mafia
If we were to find a central figure for the famous story of the 'PayPal Mafia', its 'Godfather' Peter Thiel is undoubtedly the most fitting.
In 1998, Thiel co-founded Fieldlink with Max Levchin and Luke Nosek, which was later renamed Confinity. Due to its handheld device security software development business not being commercially successful, the company quickly shifted its focus to digital wallets and launched the first version of the PayPal electronic payment system in 1999. In March 2000, Confinity merged with the online financial services company X.com founded by Elon Musk and others, and was officially renamed PayPal in June 2021.
In 2002, eBay announced its acquisition of this newly listed company for approximately $1.5 billion in an all-stock deal, with Peter Thiel as co-founder and first CEO, completing his first significant wealth leap.
After the sale of PayPal, members of the 'PayPal Mafia' scattered throughout Silicon Valley, launching a new wave of entrepreneurship and investment. Among them, Thiel's $500,000 convertible bond investment in Facebook in 2004 is often regarded as one of the most representative early investments in Silicon Valley. At that time, Facebook's valuation was only $4.9 million. As the first external investor in Facebook, Thiel obtained 10.2% of its shares and joined the company's board. After Facebook went public in 2012, Thiel successively cashed out over $1.1 billion.
In fact, as early as 1996, Thiel had begun his venture capital career. At that time, he raised $1 million with the help of friends and family and invested $100,000 in his friend Luke Nosek's network calendar project, which ended in failure. Later, at the suggestion of Luke's friend Max Levchin, they partnered to create a cryptography-related company called Fieldlink, which later transformed and eventually became PayPal.
After years of exploration in Silicon Valley and successfully investing in Facebook, Thiel began to reshape his investment vehicle and philosophy. In 2005, he, along with Luke Nosek and other old partners, co-founded Founders Fund, which initially focused on defense-related startups and technologies. Thiel's own data company Palantir, founded in 2003, also quickly grew into one of the important data infrastructure suppliers for the U.S. government and large institutions, initially focusing on counter-terrorism and anti-fraud scenarios. Palantir's stock price has increased twentyfold in the past five years, earning it the title of a stock that truly represents national fortune.
After achieving great financial success with Facebook, Founders Fund shifted its focus to hard tech, aiming to support startups that have the potential to 'elevate civilization to a new height'. Besides Facebook, Thiel also made early investments in many leading companies in various fields through personal investments or Founders Fund, including Airbnb, LinkedIn, SpaceX, Stripe, and DeepMind.
It is worth mentioning that in 2002, Thiel also operated an investment management and hedge fund called Clarium Capital, which implemented a global macro strategy. The assets managed by Clarium rapidly grew to $8 billion in 2008, but a series of unprofitable investments and client redemptions led to its assets shrinking to about $350 million by 2011.
From the founding and selling of PayPal, to the 'legendary early investment' in Facebook, and the formation of Founders Fund and Palantir, Thiel essentially completed a transformation from 'entrepreneur—angel—venture capital partner—industry opinion leader' in the first decade of the 21st century. This process brought him considerable capital strength, networking resources, and the ability to always stay at the forefront of technology, quietly building a bridge for his entry into the cryptocurrency world in the near future.
Made $1.8 billion during the cryptocurrency cycle
Among Silicon Valley capital, Thiel is one of the earliest well-known investors to intersect with the cryptocurrency and blockchain industry.
In September 2014, Thiel announced the latest batch of 'Thiel Fellowship' winners, with 20 young individuals selected, including 20-year-old Ethereum co-founder Vitalik Buterin. This fellowship is a two-year entrepreneurial funding program launched by Thiel through the Thiel Foundation in 2010, aimed at young people aged 22 and under who do not yet have a college degree, encouraging them to 'drop out to start a business or do research'. In addition to cash support, the program also provides mentorship and networking support without taking equity in the founders' companies. With the rapid development of Ethereum, Vitalik quickly became a representative figure of the Thiel Fellowship.
Before funding Vitalik, Thiel had already shown interest and support for the early blockchain industry. In 2013, Founders Fund led a $2 million seed round financing for the crypto payment company BitPay. At that time, crypto payments were still in their infancy, and the external interpretation was that top Silicon Valley funds were beginning to explore 'payment-side' crypto applications, betting on its compliance and merchant acceptance prospects.
Another well-known investment by Thiel in the cryptocurrency industry is Block.one and Bullish, with the former being the parent company of the public chain project EOS, and the latter being the cryptocurrency exchange launched by Block.one in 2021. In 2018, Block.one announced it had secured strategic investments from investors including Peter Thiel and Bitmain. In 2021, Block.one also spearheaded the incubation of the institutional cryptocurrency trading platform Bullish, claiming an investment scale of about $10 billion, with Peter Thiel, Alan Howard, and Louis Bacon listed as early key supporters.
In 2019, mining infrastructure company Layer1 announced it had secured $50 million in financing, with Peter Thiel as one of the investors. Layer1 aims to build comprehensive capabilities from electricity to chips to self-built mines in the U.S., aligning with Thiel's consistent investment preference for 'infrastructure and upstream control'.
In addition to supporting early crypto projects as an investor, Thiel's returns from direct investments in cryptocurrencies may be even more astonishing. According to Reuters, as one of the earliest institutional investors in cryptocurrencies, Founders Fund began buying Bitcoin heavily as early as 2014 and liquidated it before the 2022 cryptocurrency market crash, yielding approximately $1.8 billion in huge returns.
Additionally, sources say that Founders Fund resumed buying cryptocurrencies in the summer of 2023, investing $200 million to acquire BTC and ETH over a few months. Reuters was unable to determine the average price of these purchases, but at the time, BTC prices were below $30,000, while ETH fluctuated between $1,500 and $1,900. Reuters commented: 'Thiel's love for cryptocurrency aligns with his interests in liberalism, small government, and technological innovation.'
Increase investment in cryptocurrency
In recent years, Thiel has repeatedly championed Bitcoin. In public appearances, he has often praised Bitcoin for its 'digital gold' functionality, calling it a hedge against inflation and central bank policies. In October 2021, at an event hosted by Lincoln Network in Miami, Thiel was invited to express views on cryptocurrency, central banks, and macro issues, stating that he felt he was under-invested in Bitcoin, and said, 'All you have to do is buy Bitcoin.'
It has proven that Thiel's words were not empty. In recent years, Thiel seems to have begun increasing his investment in cryptocurrencies, with Founders Fund's investment strategies and focus areas starting to turn toward the crypto field.
In May 2023, former Pantera co-CIO Joey Krug joined Founders Fund as a partner. Krug stated on X platform: 'I will focus on formulating the Founders Fund's cryptocurrency strategy for the next decade while looking for the next wave of crypto startups and founders worth supporting.' With Krug's addition, Founders Fund began to shift towards treating cryptocurrency as a regular investment category.
In the wave of listed companies' cryptocurrency treasury craze, Thiel again became the 'behind-the-scenes winner'. In mid-2025, the Bitcoin mining company Bitmine Immersion Technologies announced a strategic shift of its 'corporate treasury' to Ethereum (ETH), appointing Fundstrat co-founder and well-known macro analyst Tom Lee as chairman, and initiated a $250 million private placement. In mid-July, as one of the company's most important shareholders, Thiel disclosed that he held approximately 9.1%. After the news was released, the company's stock price rose nearly 15% in early trading.
According to data from Strategicethreserve, the Ethereum holdings of U.S. listed company Bitmine have reached approximately 1.2 million, with a holding market value exceeding $5 billion, ranking first among Ethereum treasury companies, significantly ahead of the second-ranked Sharplink Gaming—holding approximately 728,800 Ethereum worth about $3.25 billion.
Additionally, Thiel's early layout four years ago is also beginning to yield returns. In August 2025, Bullish was listed on the New York Stock Exchange and surged on its first day, marking the official entry of Thiel's long-term bet on 'institutional trading infrastructure' into the public capital market.
Power broker, Thiel's political influence layout
In addition to achieving business success in fintech and cryptocurrency, Peter Thiel's influence has also reached the power center of Washington. As a 'super capitalist in the tech world', Thiel's role in American politics cannot be ignored; he has long laid out his influence in the White House and Congress by funding candidates and establishing political-business connections.
As one of the few Republican supporters in Silicon Valley, he publicly supported Trump during the 2016 presidential election. In an environment where almost everyone in Silicon Valley opposed Trump, Thiel's high-profile support was indeed an anomaly, but he, as a 'self-proclaimed libertarian who believes in capitalism,' also valued Trump's anti-establishment color.
In terms of political donations and connections, Thiel is also very active. In 2016, as an important ally of Trump, Thiel donated $1.25 million to Trump's campaign team and became a member of the presidential transition team.
Additionally, the Los Angeles Times noted that he has long invested in Republican candidates, especially the new generation of conservative politicians related to the tech industry. For example, he donated a record $15 million to his protégé—former employee and current U.S. Vice President JD Vance, the highest single donation in Ohio Senate campaign history. He also introduced Vance to Trump, helping Vance win Trump's endorsement and indirectly helping Trump find a 'golden partner' for his later presidential campaign and second term.
Another Silicon Valley newcomer, Blake Masters, who was the COO of Thiel's office and a collaborator on Thiel's entrepreneurial book (Zero to One), also received Thiel's support and promotion, jointly pursuing a political path. Thiel has invested over $10 million in super PACs supporting their campaigns.
Several major American media outlets have described Thiel as a 'power broker' or 'financier' in the Republican tech community. (Business Insider) even referred to him as the 'King of the Republicans', being an early supporter of Trump and the first Silicon Valley tech investor to cash in his donations in 2016.
It is worth mentioning that Thiel's attitude towards Trump's camp has changed. A report by The Guardian in 2023 stated that Thiel, in an interview with The Atlantic, described his 'support for Trump's decisions as a kind of incoherent cry for help', indicating that the developments were much crazier and more dangerous than anticipated. The report also mentioned that Trump was very dissatisfied after being refused a $10 million donation from Thiel earlier in 2023. Ultimately, Thiel did not participate in funding the 2024 political campaign.
