Peter Thiel: High Bitcoin Prices Are Proof of US Inflation

The PayPal co-founder and venture capitalist billionaire Peter Thiel has claimed that rising bitcoin (BTC) prices are proof that inflation has taken hold in the United States economy.

Thiel, who per Bloomberg was speaking at the weekend “at a conservative conference” that high BTC prices “indicate the economy is facing real inflation.”

The investor added that he “regretted not buying more” bitcoin earlier, and stated:

“You know, bitcoin [at] USD 60,000 – I’m not sure that one should aggressively buy [at that price]. But surely what it is telling us is that we are having a crisis moment.”

As reported, in October, strategists at investment bank JPMorgan also said bitcoin looks strong at the moment, although they opined that it is inflation concerns, rather than the launch of a bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) that is really propelling the bitcoin price higher.

Meanwhile, Thiel took aim at the United States central bank, the Federal Reserve (Fed), for allowing inflation to rise. He was quoted as stating that recent price rises are “not transitory,” and said the Fed had thus far failed to “address inflation” and did not “recognize its seriousness.”

Thiel added that the Fed was showing signs of “epistemic closure,” essentially shutting its mind to the rapidly developing problem.

He concluded that the Fed “isn’t even acknowledging the problem,” appeared to believe it “could print money without triggering inflation.”

Thiel has previously called himself “pro-crypto” and “pro-bitcoin maximalist,” and prior to the Chinese crypto crackdown in September this year, warned Washington that bitcoin could become a “Chinese financial weapon.”

Last month, he said of BTC:

“It’s the canary in the coal mine. It’s the most honest market we have in the country, and it’s telling us that this decrepit […] regime is just about to blow up.”

At 08:18 UTC, BTC trades at USD 62,246 and is up by almost 2% in a day and a week. It rallied by 29% in a month.

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