On June 28, the American venture capitalist said that he wasn’t sure that BTC prices would go up that dramatically from here, in an interview with CNBC.

The bearish outlook stems from his view that Bitcoin has yet to fulfill itself as a cypherpunk, crypto-anarchist, and libertarian financial freedom tool.

He said that this vision is what got him interested in Bitcoin and what he thought was “terrific about it.”

Bitcoin Vision Questioned

“But the question is, does it really work that way?” he asked before pondering whether that thread has somehow got lost. “People in the FBI tell me that they’d much rather have criminals use Bitcoin than hundred dollar bills,” he said.

However, when asked whether he had sold any of his BTC, he replied with:

“I still hold some … there are all these ways I didn’t buy as much as I should have.”

Thiel hasn’t turned completely bearish on Bitcoin, revealing that he still has a “small position,” and suggesting that “it probably can still go up some but it is going to be a volatile bumpy ride.”

There’s a weird effort by clickbait bitcoin twitter accounts to misrepresent Peter Thiel’s CNBC interview.

While I don’t agree with Peter’s opinions, I also don’t enjoy to be lied to either by the bitcoin spin machine.

The fuller context of what Peter Thiel said: https://t.co/3IYs0Q2oZA pic.twitter.com/UQ0Kzm2xtF

— Pledditor (@Pledditor) June 29, 2024

Writer and model Jessica Vaugn commented, “He wishes he bought more, is what this sounds like,” before adding:

“No one wants to make themselves look like they could be a lot richer, especially billionaires. That’s where their self-worth is stocked.”

Peter Thiel has made a lot of money out of crypto, with his fund cashing out in January 2023 after holding BTC for 8 years, making $1.8 billion in profit in the process.

Moreover, Thiel’s Founders Fund reportedly started reinvesting in Bitcoin and Ethereum earlier this year.

BTC at a Crossroads

Bitcoin markets are “at a very critical level now,” according to analyst ‘Game of Trades.’

The analyst observed that BTC had broken back into a rising channel after spending four months above it in a post on X on June 29.

“If this move confirms, then further downside is at risk,” he cautioned. BTC could fall as far as $44,000 and still remain within this channel, according to the chart.

ALERT: Bitcoin is at a very critical level now

It has broken back into the rising channel after spending 4 months above it

If this move confirms, then further downside is at risk

But if price is able to reclaim the channel resistance, then this would be a false breakdown… pic.twitter.com/fjmYcpiv6v

— Game of Trades (@GameofTrades_) June 29, 2024