6 Silicon Valley Giants' Heartfelt Minutes on Crypto

With the dramatic growth of Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETF), the cryptocurrency industry is in the midst of the most critical transition period to widespread adoption in history. With the current developments, 6 important figures in the tech industry in Silicon Valley have expressed some interesting views.

The tech industry continues to actively infiltrate the blockchain industry, proposing and building new solutions that make Web3 products better. From there, both casual people as well as professional participants are easier to use.

CEO Block Jack Dorsey**: Cow** Bitcoin

In 2021 at the Crypto Council for Innovation's "The B-Word" conference, on a panel alongside Cathie Wood and Elon Musk, Dorsey said:

"Electronic Money has deep principles, it's weird and constantly evolving. It reminds me of the Internet in its infancy."

Jack Dorsey – CEO of Block

It can be said that the founder of Twitter, Block and Bluesky is a fan of Bitcoin as well as cryptocurrencies. The Silicon Valley prodigy founded Block (formerly Square Payments) shortly after founding Twitter.

Furthermore, his payment processing company bought CashApp and started offering users Bitcoin easy, simple custody so they could buy BTC with a credit or debit card on their phone.

Just a few days ago, Twitter Dorsey announced that Block had completed the development of proprietary Bitcoin mining chips. This is an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (Application-Specific Integrated Circuit – ASIC) designed at the hardware level in nanometers to be optimized just for the purpose of mining Bitcoin:

"Our mining chips will use the most advanced semiconductor process available and deliver the performance needed for mining operators of all types to survive and thrive in the fifth mining epoch (the recent 4th post-halving phase) and beyond."

Moreover, in Block's Q1 earnings report to investors, Dorsey announced that the Oakland, California-based Web3 company will invest 10% of profits from all Bitcoin-related operations to buy BTC each month in the near term.

"Historically and in the future, our investment in Bitcoin transcends technology. It's an investment in a future where economic empowerment is the norm. This commitment drives our business into new territories, opens up new opportunities for our customers and ensures long-term value for our shareholders. What really drives my thinking and passion for this is if the Internet had the opportunity to get a native currency, what would it be? For me, it's Bitcoin because of the fundamentals and because of its resilience."

Home PayPal founder Peter Thiel – B cautious**

PayPal founder and Silicon Valley's most successful investor, Peter Thiel, is a Web3 expert. His Founders Fund has held and sold huge amounts of Bitcoin for years. The Thiel Foundation helped launch the Ethereum in 2014 with a $100,000 grant to the inventor and founder of Ethereum Vitalik Buterin.

Peter Thiel – Founder of PayPal

Bitcoin prices rise a floor above $60,000 in February after spot issuance Bitcoin ETF institutions in the United States were given the green light by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in January. The last time BTC traded above $60,000, Thiel offered advice gainer caution while speaking at the Mecca Bitcoin event in Miami, Florida:

"I don't know if you should invest all your money in Bitcoin at $60,000 right now. But certainly the price at $60,000 is an extremely hopeful sign. It's the most honest market we have in this country. I felt like I wasn't investing enough in it," Thiel said at a time when every Bitcoin investor felt that way.

In the debate over whether investors are coming to Bitcoin is still early or too late, he said:

"I think the answer is still long... Perhaps still a mysterious question."

As of 2021, Thiel's Founders Fund shows excellent timing for large investments and withdrawals on the Bitcoin blockchain. The company revealed in early 2023 that it had exited a large Bitcoin position, accumulated for 8 years just before the crypto market crash in 2022 after Bitcoin prices plunged. As a result, there have been a series of insolvencies at some major exchange and other companies have not been able to withstand the violent fluctuations of the new currency market in a 4-year cycle.

Sources familiar with the matter revealed in February this year that the fund has returned to investing in Bitcoin and ETH totaling about $200 million over the past year.

CEO Facebook Mark Zuckerberg – Bitcoin maximalist

Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg has a lot of work to do with Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. But that hasn't stopped him from breaking into blockchain and virtual reality headsets, even renaming his company Meta to focus his future on cyberspace.

Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook CEO

In fact, Zuckerberg attempted to launch a cryptocurrency in 2019 — Libra Coin — that planned to add blockchain-based payments to Facebook, Inc. apps. But that didn't happen after key supporters pulled out because pressure from global regulators bridge on Facebook bridge halt the project.

However, the Facebook CEO is still a big fan of cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. He is even a maximalist Bitcoin, believing that Bitcoin will be the largest bridge reserve money in the future.

He even named his goats Bitcoin and Max.

Bill Gates of Microsoft – Impressive but pessimistic

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said in 2022 that he wasn't optimistic about Bitcoin:

"If you have less money than Elon, be careful."

Bill Gates – Co-founder of Microsoft

However, Gates also has a reputation for being thrifty and responsible, calculating risk in the high-tech business.

"Elon has a lot of money and he's very sophisticated, so I'm not worried his Bitcoin will go up or fall randomly. I think people caught up in these crazes may not have a lot of spare money, so I'm not optimistic about Bitcoin," Gates said shortly before the market crash in 2022.

However, he once hailed "Bitcoin is a great technological achievement," so he respects how innovation Bitcoin combine other Internet techniques to create digital scarcity in a field where making copies of digital products is almost free.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai – Person back blockchain

In response to a question about the technology during Alphabet's Virtual Financial Reporting Conference in 2022, Pichai noted:

"Whenever there's innovation, I find it exciting. I think that's something that we want to support as best we can. We are looking at blockchain. It's an excitingly powerful technology with a wide range of applications."

Sundar Pichai – CEO of Alphabet

Owner X Elon Musk – Father lay **Dogecoin

Musk has been an ardent blockchain advocate for many years.

Elon Musk – The boss of X

He said in 2021:

"Electronic Money bypassing currency controls... Banknotes will disappear. And cryptocurrencies are a much better way to transfer values than a piece of paper. That's for sure."

Musk has long been a big fan of cryptocurrencies, especially Dogecoin. He styled himself the "Father of Doge" and frequently tweeted and spoke fondly about Dogecoin. His most recent mention coincided with a 14% increase in prices and market capitalization DOGE.