Gold bug and economist Peter Schiff has warned that the price of bitcoin may not rise when other financial assets rebound, even though the crypto fell alongside them. “The bitcoin bubble popped and collectors will be selling no matter what happens to financial assets,” he predicted.
Peter Schiff’s Bitcoin Outlook
Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff shared his thoughts about the future of bitcoin and cryptocurrency in a series of tweets this week. He wrote Monday:
The fact that bitcoin fell along with financial assets doesn’t mean that it will rise once those markets turn.
“Bitcoin isn’t a financial asset. It’s a collectable digital token,” Schiff continued. “The bitcoin bubble popped and collectors will be selling no matter what happens to financial assets.”
The economist also believes that bitcoin is not scarce despite the cryptocurrency’s 21 million supply cap. Responding to a tweet Tuesday stating that BTC is “the scarcest and most desirable asset the world has ever seen,” Schiff said:
Bitcoin is hardly scarce and in no way desirable. If you want to lose your money there are plenty of ways to do it. You don’t need to buy bitcoin.
Replying to another tweet claiming that bitcoin is a risk asset rather than digital gold, Schiff claimed that BTC is “More like a fool’s asset.” He asserted: “So, as long as people are foolish enough to buy bitcoin, the price will go up. Unfortunately for bitcoin HOLDers though there are plenty of fools in the world, I don’t think there are many left willing to buy bitcoin who don’t already own it.”
Schiff is the founder and current chairman of Schiffgold, a precious metals dealer specializing in gold and silver bullion. He has long been a bitcoin skeptic, regularly bashing the crypto while promoting gold.
Commenting on the collapse of FTX and subsequent calls for stronger crypto regulation, Schiff tweeted Monday:
It’s ironic that the big players in crypto are looking to government to save the industry with additional regulation.
“This goes against the very core of the original promise of Bitcoin, which was to be the free market alternative to the corrupt government fiat monetary system,” he added.
In November, Schiff warned that bitcoin has a long way to fall, valuing BTC at $10K. He also believes that the U.S. dollar will crash and the Federal Reserve’s actions will lead to a massive financial crisis.