Poor Peter Schiff still doesn’t get bitcoin

Peter Schiff took to Twitter to assure his followers that bitcoin adoption was not imminent and that a gambling use case would not be good enough either.

Schiff scathing of Grayscale success

Success for Bitcoin is absolute anathema to Peter Schiff. He has staked much of his reputation on Bitcoin just being a passing fancy and whenever anything happens to the contrary he heads straight to Twitter to give his anti-bitcoin views.

When CNBC talking heads made the case that the recent victory for Grayscale over the SEC would likely lead to a momentum shift in the bitcoin price, Schiff took to Twitter to give his views on the subject.

Once again the #Bitcoin shills on @CNBC have it wrong. A spot Bitcoin ETF does nothing to increase adoption. All it does is make it easier for some speculators to place directional bets on price. CNBC shills don’t realize that gambling doesn’t count as a use case for a currency.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) August 29, 2023

Gambling

Schiff really has the bit between his teeth as he accuses speculators of “gambling” on bitcoin’s price direction. Of course, he is right in some respects here, as there are also others who do not yet understand what bitcoin offers over and above short term price movements.

To gamble on bitcoin moving up or down when good or bad news drops is one thing, but Schiff does not mention the 75% or so of long term holders who haven’t sold anything in the last year, in spite of bitcoin visiting its cycle lows.

Entrenched views

Poor Peter has dug himself into a bit of a hole now with Bitcoin. Known as quite an eminent economist and financial analyst, Schiff has always been 100% against Bitcoin. Initially treating it as a bit of a joke, and more recently becoming more vehement in his dislike of the asset.

Many might wonder how Schiff is still so entrenched in his views when even the likes of multi-trillion asset management Blackrock CEO Larry Fink is extolling the virtues of the king of the cryptocurrencies.

Gold, not Bitcoin

The answer is probably quite straightforward. Bitcoin takes the spotlight and much of the wealth away from what is dear to Schiff’s heart, and that is gold.

Schiff’s business is gold, and with an economic catastrophe looming on the horizon, he would expect many to put their wealth into this proven hedge in the very worst times in monetary history.

When realisation hits

Bitcoin is probably becoming an irritating distraction to Schiff, and instead of acknowledging that it is an alternative asset to gold and just buying both, Schiff is bent on propagating the somewhat silly view put out by certain bankers and heads of global financial agencies that Bitcoin has no intrinsic value.

Just like a staunch, fully paid-up member of the Flat Earth Society, Schiff looks as though he is going to tough it out no matter what. When bitcoin gets to its cycle top at a potential $100k and then enters the next bear market, he will say: “I told you so”. 

When Schiff comes to the full realisation that he has been wrong all this time it will be very interesting to see how he reacts. He does have a good sense of humour, and will need to call on it when the time comes.

Disclaimer: This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice.