New report suggests billionaire Peter Thiel is connected to Bitcoin creator Satoshi Nakamoto – here’s what you need to know
A recent development in the cryptocurrency world has sparked considerable interest: billionaire entrepreneur Peter Thiel has suggested that he may have met the individual or group behind the pseudonym Satoshi Nakamoto, the creator of Bitcoin.
Thiel claims this meeting took place at a financial cryptography conference in Anguilla 23 years ago.
This revelation comes as Thiel’s associate, Balaji Srinivasan, speculates that Bitcoin could reach a value of $1 million.
Given Thiel’s connections at the time, which included Elon Musk, the PayPal mafia, the E-Gold founders, Srinivasan, and Vitalik Buterin, the founder of the first Bitcoin magazine, it is likely that Thiel crossed paths with Satoshi. However, the extent of their connection remains uncertain.
Exploring Thiel’s potential link to Satoshi
Thiel reminisced, “I met them on the beach in Anguilla in February 2000. We started a revolution against central banks… We intended to make PayPal compatible with E-Gold and overthrow all central banks.”
E-Gold ended in 2007 when the US Department of Justice shut down the project and arrested the founders for unregistered money transfer. The fallout and losses from E-Gold continued for over seven more years.
The Financial Cryptography conference, a long-running gathering for cypherpunks, could have provided ample inspiration for Nakamoto’s Bitcoin vision. Researchers at the conference presented papers such as “Electronic Cash – Technology Will Denationalise Money” and “Efficient Electronic Cash with Restricted Privacy.”
Thiel claims that Satoshi must have gleaned insights from E-Cash, such as bypassing formal organizational structures and adopting MIT’s Open Source License for Bitcoin.
PayPal Mafia close to source
Thiel was a member of the “PayPal Mafia” formed in the early 2000s, consisting of FinTech startup founders who amassed significant wealth through dot-com startups and IPOs.
Prominent figures included Elon Musk, X.com founder and early proponent of Bitcoin and Dogecoin, and Balaji Srinivasan, former Coinbase CTO and General Partner at Andreessen Horowitz (a16z).
Srinivasan has recently attracted attention for betting that Bitcoin will reach $1 million due to potential US hyperinflation, although some suggest this may be a publicity stunt.
Longtime friends Srinivasan and Thiel share a mutual disdain for the American banking system and an interest in Seasteading. Both argue that Bitcoin requires a sovereign nation to avoid regulation.
Thiel’s Founders Fund wisely moved billions of dollars from SVB just days before the disastrous bank run in an attempt to avoid the crisis.
While some dismiss Thiel’s claims, others highlight reports that he sold his Bitcoin holdings. Regardless of his current involvement in cryptocurrency, Thiel undeniably played a role in the early Financial Cryptography community and continues to criticize banks.
At the 2022 Bitcoin Miami conference, Thiel publicly demonstrated his distrust of the US dollar by tearing up $100 bills while criticizing the banking system.
