Peter Thiel's Founders Fund made a bet on bitcoin that's now worth hundreds of millions of dollars
- Founds Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by tech billionaire Peter Thiel, has made hundreds of millions of dollars on bitcoin investments, according to the Wall Street Journal.
- The firm reportedly put between $15 million and $20 million into the cryptocurrency, and made a lot of money as bitcoin's value skyrocketed 1,300% over the course of the year.
- Bitcoin markets responded favorably to the Journal's report, sending bitcoin up 12% on Tuesday.
Even Peter Thiel caught the bitcoin bug.
Founders Fund, the venture capital firm co-founded by Thiel in 2005, invested $15 million to $20 million in the popular cryptocurrency, according to the Wall Street Journal.
That bet on bitcoin is now worth hundreds of millions of dollars, the fund told its investors, thanks to bitcoin's dramatic rise in the fourth quarter of 2017, according to the WSJ. The cryptocurrency ended the year with a price around $14,000 - up from around $1,000 at the start of 2017.
It's unclear exactly when Founders Fund bought all its bitcoin. Founders Fund declined to comment on the report.
Founders Fund's bitcoin investments are spread across several of the firm's different funds, including one which launched as recently as mid-2017, according to the WSJ. It's unclear whether any of the firm's investments have been sold, according to the report.
Despite growing hype and popularity, few mainstream institutions have invested in bitcoin due to its speculative value and the volatility of its pricing. Bitcoin prices can swing by double-digit percentage points in a matter of hours.
In fact, the markets responded favorably on Tuesday following the Journal's initial report on the fund's investment.
The price of bitcoin was up 12% to $15,098.57 at the time of publication Tuesday, up from an opening price of $13,509.87, according to Markets Insider.