Long-term Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff is back again, this time saying the flagship cryptocurrency’s latest dip is worse when priced in gold. He also predicts that BTC could surrender all its 2025 gains if the current trend continues.
BTC’s Downturn Is Worse Than It Seems
Schiff claimed in a November 18 post on X that Bitcoin has lost 40% of its value when measured against gold. He added that its decline relative to the metal exposes the “digital gold” hype as a fraud. According to him, investors who believed the narrative will eventually have to sell.
This comes after a major correction in BTC, which saw its price fall below $90,000 for the first time in seven months. On the other hand, gold is still trading above $4,000. Market analyst Charlie Bilello highlighted the scale of the pullback, showing that Bitcoin’s drop from its 52-week high is steeper than that of major tech stocks like Apple (-4%) and Nvidia (-12%), though not as severe as crypto-centric stocks like Strategy (-64%) and Coinbase (-41%).
Back in March, one Bitcoin could buy about 33 ounces of gold, but by mid-November, that number had fallen to just 22. It has given Schiff lots of ammunition, with the economist repeatedly urging investors to “Sell Bitcoin now and buy gold before you get mauled.” He didn’t stop there, challenging Strategy’s Chairman, Michael Saylor, to a debate while claiming that his firm’s business model is fundamentally flawed, and that it will eventually result in bankruptcy.
Despite the onslaught, Saylor has publicly defended Bitcoin’s volatility, affirming that his company’s strategy remains secure, and even adding to its stockpile, buying $830 million worth of BTC after weeks of modest acquisitions.
Schiff Warns BTC Might Not Rebound
The gold advocate also warned that Bitcoin’s history of bouncing back from each downturn will keep many people holding on for years. Nonetheless, he suggested that this time the asset may continue to slide rather than stage a recovery, having earlier insisted it is already in a bear market.
At the time of writing, the cryptocurrency was trading around $90,700, per data from CoinGecko, down more than 5% in the last 24 hours and 28% below its all-time high set in October when it went above $126,000.
Still, the crypto community on X has largely dismissed Schiff’s claims. One user countered that “a correction doesn’t erase an asset’s long-term strength,” pointing out that Bitcoin has experienced drops of 30% to 50% in every cycle, even in years where it went on to set new all-time highs. They argued that the comparison to gold lacks context, as Bitcoin is a more reactive, emerging asset class, and that “short-term movements don’t define long-term value.”
Others were similarly defiant, simply stating, “Buying more here. Thank you for the bottom signal.” At the same time, another noted that Bitcoin “has been declared dead over 400 times and still outperforms over any real timeframe.”