Economist Peter Schiff took note of Bitcoin’s BTC/USD underperformance compared to stocks and gold, warning that the cryptocurrency’s bubble is “running out of air.”
Schiff Says Hype Not Translating Into Gains
In an X post, Schiff used Bitcoin’s historic first climb to $100,000 in December 2024 as the reference point and highlighted the higher returns of gold, the Nasdaq Composite, and the VanEck Gold Miners ETF GDX since then.
Schiff said that despite the hype around a Strategic Bitcoin Reserve and aggressive corporate buying, Bitcoin was up only 10%. In contrast, he pointed out that the NASDAQ has risen by 12%, gold has surged by 28.5% and the gold ETF has skyrocketed by 80% in the same period.
“This bubble is running out of air,” the Bitcoin critic said.
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The Factors Behind The Lag
Bitcoin, often marketed as a safe-haven investment by its advocates, has behaved more like a risk-on asset this year, influenced by President Donald Trump’s tariff policies and Federal Reserve rate cuts. The apex cryptocurrency tumbled to $75,000 after the so-called “Libration Day.”
Its growth has also been hampered by cryptocurrency-specific causes, such as a whale dumping 24,000 BTC, worth more than $2.7 billion, earlier this month.
Gold, on the other hand, appears to have maintained its inflation hedge tag, rising as stocks and cryptocurrencies fell. Spot gold has risen over 27% year to date, while Bitcoin has increased by 18.81%.
Bitcoin Outperformed On A Yearly Timeframe
Schiff has long been accused of cherry-picking time frames as per his convenience to downplay Bitcoin’s returns while hyping investments he likes, such as gold. Earlier this month, he made a similar comparison, fixing November-end as the reference point.
However, if the assets are compared over a year, Bitcoin easily outperforms with a 76% return.
| Cryptocurrency | Price (Recorded on Aug. 27, 2024) | Price (Recorded at 10:44 p.m. ET) | Gains +/- |
| Bitcoin | $59,507.92 | $111,360.43 | +76.87% |
| Nasdaq Composite | 17,754.82 | 21,544.27 | +21.54% |
| Spot Gold | $2502.24 | $3,383.41 | +35.21% |
| VanEck Gold Miners ETF | $39.22 | $61.60 | +57.02% |
Schiff’s Doom Predictions
Schiff’s skepticism towards Bitcoin is not new. Earlier this week, he said Bitcoin could plummet to $75,000, advising investors to “sell now, buy back lower.”
The gold bug has a long history of declaring Bitcoin “dead,” and he once said that the leading cryptocurrency would never hit $100,000. Schiff admitted he was wrong about that prediction.
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Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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