Peter Schiff, one of the most vocal critics of cryptocurrencies, has not changed his mind. His latest take is that Bitcoin (BTC) is a total scam, and the current price has little to do with real market value and everything to do with government-driven money flows.
Schiff Bitcoin’s rise is just the latest chapter in a long story of speculation fueled by easy money. The U.S. government’s policies, especially around liquidity and stimulus, have artificially increased demand for risk assets – and Bitcoin, he says, fits that category more than ever.
To him, it is not a safe haven, not a currency, and not a store of value – just a high-risk trade built on 100% faith.
Comparing Bitcoin to gold, Schiff says that the precious metal is the only real way to protect your money when inflation and market volatility are a concern.
Even though both assets are going up, they rarely move in sync. Recently, as U.S. stock futures and the dollar moved lower, gold inched up while Bitcoin dropped. This reinforced the common view that Bitcoin acts more like a tech stock than digital gold.
The critic is also not convinced that Bitcoin will ever be used as a base-layer currency or financial standard. He does not think the cryptocurrency has any real value, no solid backing and no place in a solid monetary system – it is all about hype and marketing.
Beyond the asset itself, Schiff is skeptical of government involvement in the space. He has been against the use of public funds to support or invest in crypto, saying that it is not the job of regulators to back what he sees as a purely speculative sector.