Peter Schiff, an American economist, financial broker, and author, is renowned for his bearish outlook on the U.S. economy and his accurate prediction of the 2008 financial crisis. Born on 23 March 1963 in New Haven, Connecticut, Schiff holds a degree in finance and accounting from the University of California, Berkeley. Starting his career as a stockbroker, he later co-founded Euro Pacific Capital, where he currently serves as CEO and Chief Global Strategist. An advocate of the Austrian School of economics, Schiff is a vocal critic of monetary stimulus policies and a well-known skeptic of Bitcoin, often comparing it to the tulip mania bubble. He prefers investments in gold and other hard assets and has authored several books, including “Crash Proof: How to Profit from the Coming Economic Collapse” and “The Real Crash: America’s Coming Bankruptcy.”
On 2 April 2024, when Bitcoin was trading at around $65,469, Schiff took to the social media platform X to comment on the market. He noted that gold had risen over 1% to hit a new record high, while silver had surged nearly 4%. He emphasized that silver still had significant room to grow to reach a new record high and remarked that Bitcoin had fallen almost 6% that day. Schiff provocatively stated that silver is the new Bitcoin, dubbing it “Bitcoin 2.0.”
Fast forward to 18 May 2024, with Bitcoin trading at around $67,613, Schiff revisited his earlier post. He highlighted that since 2 April, silver had increased by over 21%, while Bitcoin’s gains were less than 2%, asserting that silver offered more than ten times the return compared to Bitcoin. He declared, “Bitcoin is dead. Long live silver.”
Since the date of this post, #silver is up over 21% while #Bitcoin is up less than 2%. That's more than 10x the bang for your buck with silver. Bitcoin is dead. Long live silver. https://t.co/WkiUTJmmol
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 18, 2024
Then, Peter Brandt, a highly respected trader and author with over four decades of experience in the commodity and futures markets, entered the fray. Brandt began his career in 1976 with ContiCommodity Services and later founded Factor LLC, a proprietary trading firm. Known for his expertise in classical charting techniques and disciplined risk management, Brandt has authored several influential books, including “Diary of a Professional Commodity Trader,” which provides an insider’s perspective on trading. Brandt is recognized for his successful use of classical chart patterns and is frequently sought for his market insights. He also shares his extensive knowledge through Factor Trading, offering educational content on chart analysis and trading strategies.
On 18 May 2024, Brandt responded to Schiff’s comments about Bitcoin and silver, advising people to ignore such posts. He suggested that Schiff makes these statements to attract attention and followers, adding that Schiff has been betting on “dead horses.” Brandt dismissed Schiff’s enthusiasm for silver as overblown, stating that just because silver had seen a recent uptick, it didn’t validate Schiff’s overall bearish stance on Bitcoin.
Schiff quickly responded to Brandt, urging him to consider that his views on Bitcoin are genuine. Schiff argued that investing in Bitcoin is like betting on an imaginary horse and warned of the high risks involved, asserting that many would lose money by betting on Bitcoin. He reiterated that his criticism of Bitcoin is not merely for social media engagement but a sincere belief in its high risk and lack of intrinsic value.
Why don't you give me the benefit of the doubt and just assume I'm being honest about my view on Bitcoin? If you are betting on Bitcoin you are betting on an imaginary horse. A lot of people will lose a bunch of money betting on Bitcoin. I am just warning them of the high risk.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 19, 2024
In a subsequent post, Schiff expressed frustration with accusations that he criticizes Bitcoin only to generate engagement. He argued that if his goal were to maximize engagement, he would endorse Bitcoin instead. Schiff maintained that he wouldn’t sacrifice his integrity for popularity and described Bitcoin as a pyramid scheme, a “literal blockchain letter.” He contended that Bitcoin promoters mislead people into choosing Bitcoin over gold and declared that if Bitcoin advocates stopped calling it “digital gold,” he would cease his critical posts about it.
I think Bitcoin is a pyramid scheme, a literal blockchain letter. Bitcoin promoters are trying to convince people to buy Bitcoin instead of gold. I don't want people to make that mistake. If Bitcoin pumpers stop claiming Bitcoin is digital gold then I won't need to post about it.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) May 19, 2024
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