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Investor Peter Thiel has sparked a debate by suggesting that Bitcoin could be exploited by China to threaten the hegemony of the dollar. Reality or fantasy?
Is Bitcoin the plaything of Chinese political power? This fear is not new. It is explained in particular by the significant size of the Bitcoin mining industry in China. And the argument is resurfacing at the initiative of Peter Thiel.
Peter Thiel, an influential figure and investor, recently spoke at a round table organized by the Richard Nixon Foundation. Other US administration figures, including former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, also participated.
Peter Thiel does not exclude that Bitcoin could be a financial weapon for China. And this one could allow this economic adversary on the international stage to threaten the power of the dollar.
“Even though I’m a pro-crypto, pro-bitcoin maximalist, I wonder if, at this point, Bitcoin should also be considered in part a Chinese financial weapon against the United States… it threatens fiat currency, but it threatens the dollar more than anything,” he says
CoinDesk points out, however, that Thiel is primarily invested in benefiting Ethereum. Through his foundation, he had granted $100,000 in funding to Vitalik Buterin to allow him to start his developments on the blockchain.
The billionaire investor, supporter of the former tenant of the White House, Donald Trump, is an ardent opponent of China, but also of the giants of Silicon Valley. In particular, he criticizes them for putting their technologies at the service of this economic adversary.
Thiel did not fail to reiterate his accusations during his recent speech, pinning Apple and Google. “Apple is probably the one that structurally has a real problem, because the entire supply chain of the iPhone resides in China,” he judges.
Peter Thiel’s statements about Bitcoin are being emulated in any case. Anthony Pompliano, the co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital, is also taking up the subject. Without adopting the arguments of the investor, he encourages the US to react.
“What we need is for the U.S. to be the leader in this field. We need to embrace it and make sure we use this technology to continue to be a leader on the world stage,” suggests Pompliano.