Peter Thiel suggests Bitcoin may be 'Chinese financial weapon against the U.S.'
Venture capitalist and conservative political donor Peter Thiel is a self-described "pro-Bitcoin maximalist," but he admitted Tuesday night that he's worried about the cryptocurrency and its digital brethren while hinting that tighter government regulations should be in play, Bloomberg reports.
Appearing alongside former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and former National Security Adviser Robert O'Brien at a virtual event held for members of the Richard Nixon Foundation, Thiel warned that Bitcoin may be a threat to the United States, indicating that his hawkish attitude toward China outweighs his crypto enthusiasm (Thiel is a major investor in virtual currency ventures and in cryptocurrencies themselves, Bloomberg notes).
Thiel explained that China isn't fond of the fact that the U.S. dollar is the world's major reserve currency because it gives the U.S. global economic "leverage," and he thinks Beijing may view Bitcoin as a tool that could chip away at the dollar's might. "I do wonder whether at this point, [if] Bitcoin should also be thought [of] in part as a Chinese financial weapon against the U.S.," he said, video from the event obtained by Bloomberg reveals. "It threatens fiat money, but it especially threatens the U.S. dollar ... perhaps from a geopolitical perspective, the U.S. should be asking some tougher questions about exactly how that works." Read more at Bloomberg. Tim O'Donnell
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Tim is a staff writer at The Week and has contributed to Bedford and Bowery and The New York Transatlantic. He is a graduate of Occidental College and NYU's journalism school. Tim enjoys writing about baseball, Europe, and extinct megafauna. He lives in New York City.
-
'Solitude has become a notable, and worrisome, trend of our times'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Anya Jaremko-Greenwold, The Week US Published
-
Blake Lively accuses rom-com costar of smear job
Speed Read The actor accused Justin Baldoni, her director and costar on "It Ends With Us," of sexual harassment and a revenge campaign
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Germany arrests anti-Islam Saudi in SUV attack
Speed Read The attack on a Christmas market in Magdeburg left five people dead and more than 200 wounded
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Judges block $25B Kroger-Albertsons merger
Speed Read The proposed merger between the supermarket giants was stalled when judges overseeing two separate cases blocked the deal
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Rupert Murdoch loses 'Succession' court battle
Speed Read Murdoch wanted to give full control of his empire to son Lachlan, ensuring Fox News' right-wing editorial slant
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Bitcoin surges above $100k in post-election rally
Speed Read Investors are betting that the incoming Trump administration will embrace crypto
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Enron mystery: 'sick joke' or serious revival?
Speed Read 23 years after its bankruptcy filing, the Texas energy firm has announced its resurrection
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US charges Indian tycoon with bribery, fraud
Speed Read Indian billionaire Gautam Adani has been indicted by US prosecutors for his role in a $265 million scheme to secure solar energy deals
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists approve contract, end strike
Speed Read The company's largest union approved the new contract offer, ending a seven-week strike
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
US economy still strong in final preelection report
Speed Read It grew at a solid 2.8% annual rate from July through September
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Boeing machinists reject deal, continue strike
Speed Read The rejection came the same day Boeing reported a $6.2 billion quarterly loss
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published