Billionaire venture capitalist and PayPal co-founder Peter Thiel has been a long time proponent of Bitcoin. At the Future Investment Initiative in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Thiel once again reiterated the potential of Bitcoin, stating that people are underestimating it.

Long time Bitcoin supporter

Peter Thiel has long been one of the early proponents of Bitcoin. As early as 2013, he stated that Bitcoin has the potential to change the world. As one of the co-founders of PayPal, he recognized the ability of Bitcoin to revolutionize the monetary space. He had long held the view that monetary sovereignty’s time is limited and encrypted money would be the future. In a speech at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business, he stated that unlike PayPal, Bitcoin had actually succeeded in creating a currency.

Digital gold

Peter Thiel believes that Bitcoin could be digital gold and take its place as a reserve currency. He compared many of the features of Bitcoin to gold, like its limited supply and that it is mineable.

It's like a reserve form of money, it's like gold and it's just a store of value. If Bitcoin ends up being the cyber equivalent of gold, it has a great potential left.

However, Peter wasn't as enthusiastic about other cryptocurrencies. That should be discouraging for altcoin enthusiasts who have ridden the altcoin boom for most part of the year.

Is the prince listening?

While Peter Thiel is pretty bullish on the potential of Bitcoin, in Riyadh, a certain Saudi prince has a different view. Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, the richest Arab in the world, believes that Bitcoin will implode like Enron. While Bitcoin trading is allowed in Saudi Arabia, the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority has warned people about the risks of investing in Bitcoin. The Middle East is a region teeming with billionaires and if Peter Thiel has managed to convince a few people to invest their oil-dollars in Bitcoin, the price of Bitcoin could receive a boost.