Economist Peter Schiff spent his Sunday doing what he does best: poking holes in Bitcoin believers' confidence. This time, he's questioning whether the overwhelming conviction among Bitcoin (BTC) holders might actually be setting them up for disappointment.
When Everyone Agrees, Watch Out
In a post on X, Schiff took aim at what he sees as an ironclad consensus among Bitcoiners that they simply can't lose if they hold through the volatility. The promise of "extraordinary gains" has become almost a given in crypto circles, he suggested.
"When such an overwhelming consensus develops, markets tend to confound expectations by doing the opposite of what the crowd expects," the longtime Bitcoin critic wrote.
The timing is interesting. Bitcoin fell below $88,000 over the weekend, sliding from highs above $90,000 earlier in the week. The Crypto Fear and Greed Index captured the mood shift, showing sentiment had dropped into "Extreme Fear" territory.
Not So Fast, Says Bitcoin Mining Executive
But Bitcoin advocates weren't having it. Eli Nagar, CEO of Bitcoin mining firm Braiins, pushed back on Schiff's contrarian argument. The idea that markets do the "opposite of consensus" makes sense for discretionary assets, Nagar argued, but Bitcoin is different. According to him, Bitcoin reprices monetary debasement rather than following typical market psychology.
The Gold Bug's Alternative Pitch
Schiff's Bitcoin skepticism comes packaged with his usual enthusiasm for precious metals. On Saturday, he urged investors to buy gold and silver before markets opened this week, predicting new record highs were coming.
He's been particularly bullish on silver lately. Earlier, Schiff called any Bitcoin rebound a "good opportunity" to dump what he termed "fool's gold" and pivot to silver instead, celebrating as silver pushed above $60 per ounce to reach a new all-time high.
Price Action: At press time, BTC was trading at $89,762.95, up 0.50% over 24 hours. Spot gold traded at $4,326.75 per ounce, up 0.56%, while spot silver climbed nearly 1% to $62.6225 per ounce.