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- Peter Schiff expressed his disbelief in Bitcoin
- He advocated gold and reiterated its superiority to the king’s coin.
In a revealing interview on the Pomp Podcast, Peter Schiff, chief economist of Euro Pacific Asset Management and chairman of Schiff Gold, shared his skepticism about Bitcoin’s (BTC) potential to reach the $100,000 milestone. Schiff argued that Bitcoin doesn’t offer enough upside compared to other investment options. On the contrary, he believes that gold and gold stocks have significantly more growth potential.
“I don’t think it’s going well. I don’t think it has any value. That is the problem.”
Bitcoin vs gold
Schiff believes that BTC has matured to a point where growth prospects are limited. In the meantime, gold stocks have the potential to triple or quadruple in value due to their current undervaluation. Marking the past three years of Bitcoin’s performance, the executive added:
“It’s been going sideways for three years now. It almost reached 70,000 in 2021, but this is 2024, all the hype, all the promotions, I think these ETFs were the last chance to attract new buyers.”
The ETFs initially sparked a market rally but then suffered a sharp decline, losing about 20% of their value shortly after their debut. A classic ‘sell the news’ event. Despite this, the market recovered and reached new highs, spurred by speculative optimism and events such as a Bitcoin ETF conference in Miami.
Schiff predicts this would boost hype but not support long-term growth. In fact, he expressed pessimism about Bitcoin’s ability to break its current resistance levels without a new catalyst.
Bitcoin is not a safe haven
As for the idea of central banks adding Bitcoin to their reserves as a hedge against possible sanctions or asset freezes, Schiff rejected the idea outright.
He claimed,
“Bitcoin is not a safe haven, low-volatility asset. If your coin were attacked, you wouldn’t be able to defend it with Bitcoin because Bitcoin can crash more than your coin.”
Central banks need assets that can be liquidated immediately to support their currencies in times of market stress. According to Schiff, BTC does not meet these criteria. On the other hand, gold stands out as a proven store of value that central banks can rely on without introducing additional volatility or risk into the equation.
BTC to $1 million?
When asked whether BTC can reach $1 million, the executive attributed such a possibility solely to hyperinflationary scenarios. Schiff humorously commented on the presence of “dumb money” in the market, but deemed this insufficient to drive Bitcoin to such heights.
Finally, the director emphasized that if the amount reaches $1 million, so will everything else. Being a millionaire on paper does not equate to real wealth because of reduced purchasing power, Schiff concluded.