Peter Thiel's 'sociopaths' possess knowledge that he lacks, according to Ron Insana.

In the early 1990s, my first encounter with one of the individuals Peter Thiel labeled a "sociopathic grandpa from Omaha" took place.

During a "stocks to watch" segment, Joe Kernen and I discussed Berkshire Hathaway's earnings and our favorite companies within Warren Buffett's portfolio.

Having spent 17 years of my life in Southern California, where See's Candy was sold, and Joe's was NetJets.

In less than 24 hours, two large boxes appeared on my desk containing 10 pounds of See's candy and a note that read "Thanks for the mention. Warren."

I had never spoken to Buffett before, so I phoned him, thanked him for the sweets, and made it clear that I had no plans to share them with my coworkers.

He laughed and told me to tell Joe not to expect a jet.

We have had a friendly professional and personal relationship with Buffett, as well as with Jamie Dimon and Larry Fink, who were identified by Thiel as part of a "finance gerontocracy" on Thursday. Thiel claimed that the group is hindering the growth of Bitcoin to safeguard their own financial interests.

Thiel is using criticism of Bitcoin to promote his own investments in the cryptocurrency.

In my interactions with these men, I have never observed any signs of sociopathy, backwardness, or resistance to new ideas or technologies that could benefit the finance industry.

Warren Buffett is widely regarded as the greatest investor of our time, Dimon is known for his shrewd leadership as a bank CEO, and Fink, who heads a $10 trillion-plus investment company, has revolutionized the way the public can invest.

These business titans, despite their age, are not without flaws or missed opportunities.

Beyond our wildest dreams, they are students of money and market history, astute investors, and wealthy, especially Buffett, who are experts in the field of finance.

The total net worth of all the world's crypto billionaires would still not be enough to surpass Buffett's wealth.

Some may claim that I pander to men, but I am beyond that stage in both my personal and professional life. In reality, I have never pandered at all.

Among Bitcoin and crypto supporters, there is a strong belief that a new global currency is necessary to democratize finance and provide assistance to those with limited access to banking, payment systems, or investable assets.

By providing everyone in the world with a smartphone and links to basic financial apps, you can achieve financial literacy for all.

The problem with bitcoin

Bitcoin remains a solution in search of a problem.

As Bitcoin's value remains stagnant, payment systems are rapidly advancing, providing numerous advantages to consumers, including lower transaction costs, increased security, the use of smart contracts, and faster processing and clearing.

The payment systems revolution is largely due to blockchain and Ethereum, but other systems are emerging even more rapidly, creating increasing efficiencies that will benefit consumers, regardless of whether they use bitcoin or the 12,000 other cryptocurrencies currently in circulation.

Thiel's personal attack on Buffett, Dimon, and Fink does not strengthen the argument for bitcoin.

Bitcoin, being highly volatile, lacks the stability necessary to serve as a reliable unit of account, medium of exchange, or store of value, thus failing to possess the defining characteristics of a currency or money.

Although I have been mistaken about the cost of Bitcoin, I am still correct in my assessment of its utility.

The $820 billion market value of a specific currency is small compared to the global circulation of dollars and the $13 trillion value of the world's gold reserves.

Thiel contends that influential figures such as Buffett, Dimon, and Fink are stifling a "revolutionary youth movement."

Perhaps.

As we near or surpass retirement age, we have observed numerous investment cycles, fads, manias, and bubbles, which makes us more adept at recognizing speculative financial schemes and remain more skeptical.

If this be sociopathy, then let's use it to our advantage!