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Economist Peter Schiff made his name by predicting the 2008 housing crash. Now he’s sounding the alarm on another potential crisis in America’s housing market — one that could see a wave of homeowners mailing back their keys.
“Why are housing prices so high? Because for a long time, the Fed kept interest rates at zero, and so a lot of people were able to get really low mortgages, 3% mortgages, 4% mortgages,” Schiff explained in a 2025 YouTube video (1).
“And because homes are bought — not based on what the home cost — but based on the monthly payment, the lower the monthly payment, the more somebody could pay for a house. Now you have a problem where housing prices went way up, but then mortgage rates went way up, and home prices never came back down to levels consistent with more expensive mortgages.”
Indeed, mortgage rates have surged. The average rate on a 30-year fixed mortgage has climbed from below 3% just a few years ago to more than 6.1% today (2). Normally, higher borrowing costs can cool down the market, but prices remain stubbornly high: the S&P Cotality Case-Shiller Home Price Index, which tracks the price of single-family homes in the U.S., jumped more than 43% over the past five years (3).
Schiff believes prices will “eventually” fall to match today’s higher rates — a painful adjustment that, he warns, could trigger “a housing emergency.”
“It’s going to create a bunch of defaults and a lot of people are going to walk away and mail in their keys because they can’t sell their houses for more than they owe,” he said.
The scenario sounds familiar. During the 2008 bust, many underwater homeowners — those who owed more than their homes were worth — simply mailed their keys to the lender and walked away.
Today’s market is different. Lending standards are tighter than during the subprime era, making widespread negative equity less common. Supply constraints are also a factor: Zillow estimates the U.S. is short roughly 4.7 million homes, a gap that has helped keep prices elevated (4).
Schiff argues that many owners are staying put only because they locked in ultra-low mortgage rates, which are now limiting the number of homes for sale.
“But at some point, there are people that have to sell their houses for whatever reason and if they have to slash the prices to do it, they may not have enough money to repay the mortgages. And so this could have a cascading effect,” he warned.
According to December 2025 sales data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR), pending home sales were down 3% on the previous year and had plunged 9.3% since November (6). While seasonality could be a factor here, the NAR suggests that the decline in pending home sales could be the result of consumers facing a lack of inventory and feeling like they don’t have a lot of good options on the table.
While Schiff is wary of the U.S. homeownership market, he acknowledges one persistent trend: “Rents go up every year,” he noted on his show.
America’s housing affordability crisis is, in part, a reflection of broader cost-of-living pressures — and it underscores how real estate can serve as a hedge. As inflation drives up the cost of materials, labor and land, home values tend to rise as well. Rental income often follows suit, giving landlords a stream of cash flow that adjusts with inflation.
In fact, investing legend Warren Buffett has often pointed to real estate as a prime example of a productive, income-generating asset. In 2022, Buffett remarked that if you offered him “1% of all the apartment houses in the country” for $25 billion, he would “write you a check (8).”
Of course, you don’t need billions of dollars — or to even buy a house outright — to benefit from real estate investing. Crowdfunding platforms like Arrived offer an easier way to get exposure to this income-generating asset class.
Backed by world-class investors like Jeff Bezos, Arrived allows you to invest in shares of rental homes with as little as $100, all without the hassle of mowing lawns, fixing leaky faucets or handling difficult tenants.
The process is simple: browse a curated selection of homes that have been vetted for their appreciation and income potential. Once you find a property you like, select the number of shares you’d like to purchase and then sit back as you start receiving any positive rental income distributions from your investment.
In a recent J.P. Morgan report, Al Brooks, the vice chair of Commercial Banking at J.P. Morgan said, “I think multifamily housing is absolutely where you want to be as an investor.” He added, “The multifamily rental market may still feel the impact of a recession, but to a lesser degree than other asset classes (9).
If diversifying into multifamily rentals appeals to you, you could consider investing with Lightstone DIRECT, a new investing platform from the Lightstone Group, one of the largest private real estate companies in the country with over 25,000 multifamily units in its portfolio.
Since they eliminate intermediaries — brokers and crowdfunding middlemen — accredited investors with a minimum investment of $100,000 can gain direct access to institutional-quality multifamily opportunities. This streamlined model can help reduce fees while enhancing transparency and control.
And with Lightstone DIRECT, you invest in single-asset multifamily deals alongside Lightstone — a true partner — as Lightstone puts at least 20% of its own capital into every offering. All of Lightstone’s investment opportunities undergo a rigorous, multi-stage review before being approved by Lightstone’s Principals, including Founder David Lichtenstein.
How it works is simple: Just sign up with your email, and you can schedule a call with a capital formation expert to assess your investment opportunities. From here, all you have to do is verify your details to begin investing.
Founded in 1986, Lightstone has a proven track record of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns across market cycles with a 27.6% historical net IRR and 2.54x historical net equity multiple on realized investments since 2004. All told, Lightstone has $12 billion in assets under management — including in industrial and commercial real estate.
As such, even if multifamily rentals don’t appeal to you, Lightstone could still serve you well as an investment vehicle for other real estate verticals.
Peter Schiff (1, 7); Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis (2); S&P Global (3); Zillow (4); Gold Price (5); National Association of Realtors (6); J.P. Morgan (7, 9); CNBC (8)
This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.
Peter Schiff claimed Bitcoin is now one of Wall Street’s worst-performing assets, renewing his long-running criticism.
Nate Geraci has responded to Peter Schiff’s latest criticism of Bitcoin (BTC), challenging his claim that the cryptocurrency is lagging behind.
This comes as data reveals that investors have shifted toward precious metals over the past year.
Schiff Calls Out Bitcoin’s Poor Performance
Schiff, a long-time Bitcoin skeptic, recently took to social media to say that the flagship cryptocurrency is now one of the “worst performing assets” on Wall Street.
“Bitcoin was the best performing asset during a time period when hardly anyone owned it. But ever since Wall Street embraced it and most people bought it, it’s been one of the worst performing assets,” he wrote.
However, Geraci, president of NovaDius Wealth Management, has disagreed with this view. The analyst responded to him on X, pointing out that Bitcoin has been outperforming the S&P 500, stating:
“Spot BTC ETFs shattered every ETF launch record (i.e., ‘Wall St embraced it & most people bought it’).”
He further explained that the cryptocurrency has risen roughly 90% since the ETFs debuted, compared with gains of less than 50% in the broader stock market, expressing frustration with the economist’s constant bearish outlook of the digital asset.
Schiff has repeatedly criticized Bitcoin on social media in recent months, arguing that it has failed to live up to its reputation as “digital gold,” while also praising the performance of its traditional precious metals counterparts. Last December, he celebrated gold’s surge past $4,400 by challenging his followers with a poll asking whether the metal would hit $5,000 first or the leading cryptocurrency would plunge to $50,000.
The financial commentator has also previously suggested that Bitcoin’s collapse will occur before any crisis involving the U.S. dollar unfolds.
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Shifting Market Dynamics
A new report from Santiment shows that market dynamics are changing, with rising uncertainty about the world’s future outlook pushing investors toward precious metals.
Data indicates that over the past year, silver has surged by 214%, gold has climbed 77%, and Bitcoin has dropped 16%. This divergence could be interpreted as a bullish sign for the lagging crypto market, as the performance of “digital gold” and metals has frequently alternated over the past decade, with Bitcoin often leading during specific cycles.
However, some analysts argue that this preference for physical assets could represent a new long-term trend in the market. Overall, institutional investors have been steadily accumulating crypto, a pattern that has been consistent since late November last year.
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Even when his calls miss, Michael Burry’s reputation keeps Wall Street watching his every move. Astrid Stawiarz/Getty Images
Michael Burry earned a whopping $800 million by shorting the U.S. housing market ahead of the 2008 financial crisis. Whether the famed investor has made comparable money since then is far less clear. Still, his reputation endures. Investors continue to closely track his high-profile bets, hoping to ride his coattails to similar gains.
Burry ran the hedge fund Scion Asset Management and now publishes commentary through a weekly newsletter, though he discloses little about performance. He has also repeatedly deleted and reactivated his X account over the years, but remains active on the platform, where he has roughly 1.6 million followers and frequently posts cryptic market takes.
His celebrity status was cemented by the 2015 film The Big Short, which turned Burry into a household name. That visibility has granted him a level of credibility few investors retain for so long, even when their predictions miss the mark.
“People like superstars, and they love to listen to folks who they think are smart and successful,” Tom Sosnoff, founder of investment media network Tastylive, told Observer. “He is a personality and a contrarian. He is interesting and pretty famous in the world of finance. Love him or not, people listen to him.”
While Burry’s early success is well documented, his performance since then is harder to evaluate. As a hedge fund manager, he is only required to disclose limited information through quarterly filings such as 13Fs, which reveal long equity positions but not short positions, derivatives or overall performance. As a result, the full picture of his gains and losses remains largely opaque.
There have been claims that Burry has made more than $1 billion in total trading profits, but those figures have never been independently verified, and his fund has never been publicly audited.
Nvidia and Palantir in the crosshairs
Despite the uncertainty around his track record, Burry’s words still move markets. His recent bearish bets against Nvidia and Palantir have drawn particular attention, with Burry arguing that both sit at the center of an A.I.-driven market bubble.
On Nov. 3, regulatory filings revealed that Scion had placed roughly $1.1 billion in bearish options positions tied to those companies. The structure of the trade—largely long-dated put options—gives him time for the thesis to play out rather than requiring an immediate downturn.
“His timing was very good,” said Sosnoff. “He pretty much got short Nvidia near the top (around $200), and it’s now down 10 percent to 15 percent. It’s a good call.”
Palantir, which represents Burry’s largest short at roughly $912 million, has not fallen as sharply. The stock is down about 7.8 percent from its Nov. 3 level. Still, because the position is structured with options expiring in 2027, some analysts say it’s far too early to judge.
“His logic is extremely good, and he has over a year to be right,” David Trainer, CEO of A.I.-driven investment research firm New Constructs, told Observer.
Trainer, a former hedge fund manager, also backed Burry’s broader critique of A.I. hyperscalers, arguing that companies such as Oracle and Microsoft are using aggressive accounting practices, particularly around GPU depreciation, to flatter earnings.
“These companies are definitely using questionable billing and receivables to make their earnings look better,” said Trainer. “I can’t say if Burry has been right or wrong in previous trades, but I think he has made some money. “This time [with the A.I. Bubble], he seems right.”
The cult of the contrarian
Not everyone is convinced. Matthew Tuttle, CEO of Tuttle Capital Management and a frequent contrarian himself, said Burry’s post-2008 track record is far less impressive than his reputation suggests.
“When you look at the calls Burry has made since 2008, they have not been good,” he told Observer. “He has said ‘this is going to crash and that is going to crash’ many times since, and he hasn’t been right.”
Still, big bearish bets tend to attract attention precisely because they go against the grain.
“Any time someone makes a major down call, there’s a fascination with it as long [bullish] calls are always okay because the market always goes up,” said Tuttle.
That dynamic helps explain why hedge fund stars can remain influential long after their best trades are behind them.
“If I’m the main character in a movie and in a book like Burry and have been right in a big way, that buys me a lot of getting things wrong,” added Tuttle.
The same dynamic applies to other market personalities such as Robert Kiyosaki, Peter Schiff and CNBC’s Jim Cramer, whose reputations often outlast their accuracy.
“Robert Kiyosaki is constantly calling a bear market, and he is wrong, and Peter Schiff has been calling gold up for a long time,” said Tuttle. In Schiff’s case, it eventually worked—but more because of timing and luck than brilliance.
“When you say gold is going to go up every year, and one year it does well, does that make you a genius? I would argue it doesn’t,” he added.
Fame as financial fuel
Wall Street is full of one-hit wonders whose early success grants them enduring influence.
“Most of the time, they don’t risk their money,” said Sosnoff. “If they have one big win one year, they’re set. Their reputation is made.”
John Paulson, who famously made $15 billion betting against subprime mortgages, fits that mold, as do figures like Ralph Acampora, who called the 1990s bull market, and Paul Tudor Jones, who predicted the 1987 crash.
Other famous short sellers have stumbled. Jim Chanos, known for shorting Enron, closed his Kynikos fund in late 2023 after his Tesla bet went wrong. Bill Ackman lost roughly $1 billion betting against Herbalife in 2018, despite previously scoring a massive win betting against mortgage insurers during the financial crisis.
Ultimately, fame often matters more than accuracy.
“We live in a world where celebrities (movie, social media) have megaphones, and Michael is a celebrity because of the movie,” NYU Stern professor Aswath Damodaran told Observer. “Put simply, I will wager that most people who follow his advice (good or bad) are doing so because they liked the movie, think he is Christian Bale or like Batman, rather than because they read his treatises on Nvidia or Palantir. “
That doesn’t mean Burry lacks insight. “Michael actually is a good macro thinker and often willing to break away from the herd,” Damodaran added. “But so are many other smart investors who never get noticed.”
Commentators challenged the logic of treating identical market mechanics as bullish for one asset and fatal for another.
Long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff is facing intense pushback for applying contradictory logic to recent price drops in silver and Bitcoin.
After silver fell 14% on December 29, Schiff called it a chance to buy, but he labeled Bitcoin’s 30% retreat from its peak as proof it is a scam.
A Tale of Two Corrections
The debate ignited from a post Schiff made yesterday, where he noted silver’s sharp fall from $84 to $72, calling the resulting drop in the metal’s stocks an improved buying opportunity.
At the same time, he criticized business intelligence firm Strategy’s Bitcoin accumulation plan, claiming its average purchase price of $75,000 had yielded only a 16% gain over five years, a return he called poor.
The reaction was swift. Commentator Shanaka Anslem Perera directly challenged Schiff, pointing out that both assets experienced corrections driven by the same market forces: margin hikes, forced liquidations, and leveraged speculators being wiped out.
“I need you to explain the intellectual framework where identical market mechanics prove silver is undervalued but prove Bitcoin is worthless,” Perera wrote.
He provided a lengthy list of Schiff’s past Bitcoin predictions, which he claims were incorrect, and suggested the gold bug’s anti-BTC stance is a marketing strategy for his precious metals business, noting his company accepts BTC and he profits from engagement on the topic.
Other experts also questioned Schiff’s financial analysis regarding Strategy, with on-chain analyst Willy Woo calling it “scam maths” for not accounting for the time basis of the investments. The market watcher also argued that the majority of the $75,000 cost basis came from purchases within the last two years, not five.
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The Broader Precious Metals vs. Crypto War
This clash is the latest in a years-long rivalry. Schiff has consistently positioned gold and silver as superior, tangible stores of value, especially during economic uncertainty. For example, earlier in the month, he warned that Bitcoin could lose value before the U.S. dollar in a crisis.
Furthermore, on December 22, as gold broke above $4,400, he ran a poll asking whether the metal would reach $5,000 or Bitcoin would crash to $50,000 first, a vote where less than 20% of participants picked the Bitcoin crash scenario.
Meanwhile, a recent analysis noted that while silver and gold have had spectacular years with gains of 172% and 75%, respectively, in 2025, Bitcoin is set to end the year with a modest loss. This decline has pushed the correlation between Bitcoin and the metals to multi-year lows.
However, many in crypto remain optimistic, with some analysts suggesting that if historical cycles repeat, the flagship cryptocurrency could see major gains following the metals rallies.
That being said, the community remains divided on the fundamental value debate. Some, like commentator Daniel Tschinkel, have shown support for the enduring stability of precious metals, while others, like Fred Krueger, believe in Bitcoin’s long-term superiority.
For now, Schiff’s latest comments have less ignited a discussion about market mechanics and more one about consistent principles, putting his own bias under the microscope.
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Bitcoin has tumbled more than 30% from its all-time high of $126k and is trading around $85,500 after briefly falling to $82K, according to market reports. Traders warn that recent moves by long-term holders are changing how the market reacts to stress. Liquidity has thinned, and that makes price swings larger than usual.
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Schiff Issues A Stark Warning
According to gold investor Peter Schiff, Bitcoin is “finally having its IPO moment.” He said that when veteran holders turn into sellers, supply at the top of the market rises and future selloffs can become deeper.
“This much Bitcoin moving from strong to weak hands not only increases the float, but also means future selloffs will be bigger,” Schiff said on Saturday.
His view has been repeated by bearish voices for years, but this time the comment lands against clear on-chain moves and big ETF outflows.
Traders note that when confident, long-term holders prune positions near local peaks; when many do it at once, price action often becomes more violent.
Some argue that after all these years Bitcoin is finally having its IPO moment now that there’s enough liquidity for the OGs to cash out. I agree, but this much Bitcoin moving from strong to weak hands not only increases the float, but also means future selloffs will be bigger.
Based on reports, whales and early wallets moved over 400,000 BTC in October, activity linked with large selling pressure. One early investor, Owen Gunden, reportedly liquidated his entire 11,000 BTC stake across October and November.
High-profile retail figures also sold: Robert Kiyosaki announced a sale worth roughly $2.25 million, saying he bought when BTC was about $6,000 and sold near $90,000, and that he plans to redeploy proceeds into income businesses.
Analysts at Bitfinex point to two key drivers of the recent drop: long-term holder sales and leveraged liquidations in derivatives markets. When margin positions unwind, prices can cascade lower before the market finds support.
BTCUSD trading at $86,550 on the 24-hour chart: TradingView
ETF Flows And Retail Sentiment
According to Bloomberg and fund filings, investors pulled nearly $1 billion from Bitcoin ETFs in a single session, the second-largest daily outflow among the group of 12 funds.
BlackRock’s IBIT led with $355 million, while Grayscale’s GBTC and Fidelity’s FBTC each saw about $200 million leave.
Over the past month, ETF products have recorded roughly $4 billion in net outflows. Citi Research figures cited by market watchers place every $1 billion withdrawn at roughly a 3.4% negative swing in Bitcoin’s price.
Still, there was a counter-move: reports show ETFs posted $238 million of inflows yesterday, underlining how flows can reverse quickly.
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Schiff’s warning shows that Bitcoin can still be shaken when big holders sell. Even with some institutions buying, moving coins from long-term owners to casual investors could make future price drops bigger and faster.
People watching the market will likely pay close attention to what these veteran holders do, because their actions could decide how steep the next crash might be.
Featured image from Born Free Foundation, chart from TradingView
CZ hits back at Peter Schiff’s “brutal bear market” warning, dismissing the gold advocate’s Bitcoin criticism as short-sighted and historically insignificant.
Binance co-founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ) has pushed back against Peter Schiff’s latest prediction for Bitcoin.
This is after the economist’s recent warning of a “brutal” bear market looming over the digital asset.
Critic Mocks BTC’s Fall
Schiff, a well-known Bitcoin critic, said via X that the cryptocurrency’s 32% decline since August against gold shows that investors are losing confidence in its long-term value.
“Gold is eating Bitcoin’s lunch. Bitcoin is now down 32% priced in gold since its August high. This Bitcoin bear market will be brutal,” he wrote.
He further encouraged holders to sell their “fool’s gold” and buy the real asset, claiming that those who failed to do so would suffer losses.
CZ responded to Schiff’s latest prediction with sarcasm, referring to it as “Peter revenge.” He explained that while his argument might be right in the short term, such occurrences represent only about 1% of Bitcoin’s 16-year history. During that period, the cryptocurrency has risen from $0.004 to $110,000 despite occasional declines against the metal.
Joe Hill joked that the gold advocate is “stuck in the 1970s,” suggesting that the metal could face a bear market if the leading cryptocurrency declines. Meanwhile, popular trader The Bitcoin Therapist said he is considering selling his digital holdings to move entirely into gold and is seeking guidance.
Tony Edward, founder of the Thinking Crypto Podcast, argued that an upcoming liquidity rotation could allow Bitcoin and the wider crypto market to outperform these traditional assets.
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The “De-Bitcoinization” Trend
Schiff’s latest remarks come after Bitcoin’s recent underperformance compared to gold. The cryptocurrency peaked at around $126,000 in early October but fell to about $105,000 today, a 17% drop in USD terms. Against gold, the decline was even steeper, with it losing 32% of its value from August to today. On the other hand, the metal climbed to a record high of $4,300 per ounce.
He described the current trend as a “de-bitcoinization” and “de-dollarization,” referring to a weakening of the narratives that once presented the flagship cryptocurrency as a better alternative to traditional stores of value like gold and currencies like the U.S. dollar.
This is part of ongoing commentary from the financial commentator who saw him challenge the cryptocurrency’s narrative as ‘digital gold.’ Schiff believes that Bitcoin’s price trajectory is a warning that it is in a deeper bear market.
The digital asset is currently trading around $106,025. This marks an over 12% drop in the past week and nearly 16% below its August all-time high.
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Economist Peter Schiff renews attacks on Bitcoin, claiming its latest crash exposes the myth of “digital gold” amid rising gold prices.
Long-term Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff is at it again, this time challenging the cryptocurrency’s narrative as ‘digital gold.’
This follows the asset’s recent dip that was triggered by increased geopolitical tensions and aggressive tariff announcements from the U.S. administration.
Schiff Says Bitcoin Crash Is a “Warning”
In an October 14 X post, the economist dismissed the belief that Bitcoin’s recent flash crash was a buying opportunity, framing it instead as a sign of deeper instability.
“The Friday Bitcoin flash crash wasn’t a buying opportunity but a warning,” Schiff wrote, adding that the next time its price falls, even a post from President Trump might not be enough to help it recover.
Schiff believes that its metal counterpart’s surge exposes the “fiction” of Bitcoin as digital gold, suggesting that the cryptocurrency’s perceived role as a safe-haven asset is unraveling. “The bottom can drop out of Bitcoin at any time,” he added.
Bitcoin recently experienced a sharp correction that dragged it to a low of $110,201 on October 10. On the other hand, gold has continued setting fresh highs this year, crossing the $4100 mark.
In a separate post, the financial commentator doubled down on his position, stating that gold and silver continue to surge while Bitcoin and Ethereum keep declining. He warned that crypto investors are in for a rude awakening and will soon learn a valuable but costly lesson.
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His latest remarks follow weeks of commentary claiming that Bitcoin’s underperformance against the precious metal is a warning that the cryptocurrency is in a deeper bear market. The gold advocate went as far as predicting that the leading digital currency will soon crash.
BTC Price Outlook
Bitcoin’s brief rebound on Monday has since faded, with the cryptocurrency now trading around $111,800. This marks a nearly 10% drop in the past week and over 11% below its record high above $126,000 that it hit in August.
The decline follows last week’s market crash, which led to a rise in bearish trading and an increase in put options expiring at the end of October, according to Hendrik Ghys, founder of Thalex Global.
Ghys said that market volatility has eased to around 40 percent in the short term, showing that the panic has cooled as traders adjust their risk. Market makers who buy during dips and sell during rallies remain cautiously hopeful, expecting to manage their positions more effectively if volatility continues to fall.
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Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has doubled down on his stance, this time claiming the flagship cryptocurrency is in a bear market.
However, the crypto community pushed back against his remarks, with many arguing that his analysis relied too heavily on short-term data.
BTC Down 20% against Gold
The economist dismissed Bitcoin in a September 24 post on X, stating it is “not living up to its hype.” He pointed out that the cryptocurrency has dropped 20% against gold since its August peak, a fall that he said means it’s in bear market territory.
Schiff added that since the crypto asset is promoted as “digital gold,” the 20% drop terms is comparatively more than the 10% decline in dollar terms.
Bitcoin recently experienced a sharp correction that dragged it more than 8% down from its all-time high of $123,800 on August 13 to a recent 13-day low of $112,200 on September 22. On the other hand, gold has continued setting fresh highs this year, climbing more than 11% over the past month.
This isn’t the first time Schiff has made such claims. A few days ago, he predicted that the metal’s steady strength could set the stage for a breakout while it’s counterpart continues to slip. His view is supported by analyst Stockmoney Lizards, who pointed to a bearish rising wedge in the leading cryptocurrency’s pattern.
The latter’s chart shows $112,000 as the immediate support level, with $110,000 identified as the critical threshold, which means that a break below that point could signal a deeper decline.
Crypto Community Fires Back
Crypto supporters have rejected Schiff’s bearish outlook, with people accusing him of not factoring in the digital asset’s long-term dominance. Some claimed he is “moving the goalposts” by measuring Bitcoin in gold, pointing out that the cryptocurrency is still up triple digits against the metal over the past five years. Others dismissed his argument that a 20% decline constituted a bear market, saying that “in crypto, calling a 20% dip a ‘bear market’ is like calling a drizzle a flood.”
Another X user highlighted the leading digital asset’s long-term dominance, noting that over the past decade, gold priced in Bitcoin has collapsed by 99.3%, dropping from about 4.84 BTC per ounce in 2015 to just 0.033 BTC today.
The 62-year-old has remained relentless in his bearish stance. According to the artificial intelligence platform Grok, he has made 237 separate predictions since 2011 forecasting Bitcoin’s crash, collapse, or eventual worthlessness.
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The Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff made yet another bold prediction about the fate of Bitcoin in light of gold’s recent dip following a peak. In a fresh assault on Bitcoin’s potential, Schiff predicted a collapse “more spectacular” than the crypto asset’s recent rally.
Schiff may have convinced himself that Bitcoin is spiraling into oblivion, but the proponents continue to ridicule him.
Swan Song
Schiff argued that gold’s dip below $2,100 triggered a surge in Bitcoin, pushing its value to around $41,000. However, he cautioned that this upward momentum could mark Bitcoin’s “swan song,” suggesting that it might be a prelude to a significant decline.
Schiff attributed Bitcoin’s recent rally to the speculative fervor surrounding spot Bitcoin ETFs, asserting that this excitement is a bubble set to burst. He anticipates a spectacular collapse in the asset’s value, contrasting it with what he sees as a genuine and enduring rally in gold.
While both gold and Bitcoin can function as stores of value, Schiff’s skepticism arises from the perceived speculative nature of the latter. He frequently voices concerns about Bitcoin’s ability to withstand a genuine financial crisis; in Schiff’s view, gold’s current ascent is grounded in real value rather than speculation, positioning it as a more reliable investment compared to the leading crypto.
Proponents of the crypto industry, however, continue to mock his predictions.
Gold and Bitcoin Soar High
Gold surged to a record peak of $2,100 during the initial trading hours on December 4 but later lost a significant portion of those gains. The upward momentum in gold, which had been in progress since early October, reached its high earlier this month, following dovish statements from the US Federal Reserve.
Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s assertion that monetary policy had entered a “restrictive territory” caused a sharp decline in the dollar and Treasury yields. This, in turn, propelled gold to an all-time high as expectations for rate cuts by the US Central Bank in early 2024 grew despite efforts to moderate the prevailing optimism.
In a parallel development, the world’s largest crypto – Bitcoin – zoomed past the $40,000 mark for the first time in 2023 on broad enthusiasm about US interest rate cuts and as traders anticipate the approval of a spot Bitcoin ETF.
Bitcoin briefly touched $42,000 – a level not seen since before Terra’s crash last April – before retracing to $41,600 at press time.
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The price of Bitcoin (BTC) moved above $30,000 in the last few hours, according to data from CoinMarketCap. However, as with multiple instances in the past week, the crypto market leader was unable to sustain its bullish momentum, dipping by 0.6% in the last hour.
As the BTC market continues its battle against the $30,000 resistance zone, Bitcoin critic and gold advocate Peter Schiff has weighed in on the ongoing discourse surrounding the potential effects of the approval of a spot Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Bitcoin ETF Will Not Boost Institutional Investment, Schiff Says
In a post on X on Saturday, Peter Schiff stated that contrary to popular beliefs, the availability of more Bitcoin ETFs will likely not result in a higher level of institutional investment in the world’s largest crypto asset.
Schiff’s heavy take comes at a time in which several asset managers are currently trying to gain approval to launch the first-ever spot Bitcoin ETF in the US.
#Bitcoin pumpers claim that once there are more #BitcoinETFs, investment professionals will start buying them for their clients. That will never happend. There’s just too much liability. Investment advisors won’t buy them and stock brokers will only accept unsolicited buy orders.
Since the onset of this ETF saga in June, many market analysts have lauded the potential positive effects a spot Bitcoin ETF could produce, with some predicting BTC’s price to trade above $100,000.
According to a recent report by blockchain analytics firm CryptoQuant, the approval of a spot market ETF could result in BTC attaining a market cap of $900 billion and a total crypto market cap growth of $1 trillion.
However, Peter Schiff presents an opposing theory to this debate as he believes investment brokers will likely not be purchasing such funds for their clients due to certain “liability.”
In this context, “liability” likely refers to the risk factors attached to crypto investments, which include the crypto market volatility and lack of clear regulations in the US, among others.
Peter Schiff believes that with such existing “liability,” investment professionals will not promote or recommend a Bitcoin ETF to their clients.
In the best-case scenario, he states that investment in Bitcoin ETFs – including a spot Bitcoin ETF – will likely occur through unsolicited buy orders whereby a client makes a specific request to purchase such funds.
The ETF Saga Continues
In other news, the Bitcoin ETF saga has garnered more attention in recent weeks as more bullish predictions continue to roll in.
Most recently, Paul Grewal, Chief Legal Officer at Coinbase, stated that the American largest exchange is confident the SEC will definitely greenlight a spot Bitcoin ETF following the commission’s recent court loss against Grayscale.
Meanwhile, certain asset managers, including BlackRock and Ark Invest, have reviewed their ETF applications, indicating signs of an ongoing dialogue with the SEC, a move which typically precedes an approval by the securities regulator.
For now, it remains unknown if a spot Bitcoin ETF will eventually grace the US markets, but analysts have penned down January 10 as the expected date of approval.
Thereafter, Peter Schiff’s theory can be put to the test. However, it is worth stating that BTC did gain by 7% on October 16 following the fake news on the approval of BlackRock iShares ETF.
At the time of writing, BTC trades at $29,890.35 with a 0.6% gain in the last day. Meanwhile, the token’s daily trading volume is down by 12.67% and valued at $13.35 billion
