Peter Schiff, a renowned economist and gold bug, has criticized Bitcoin’s role and utility in today’s economy. According to Schiff’s remarks, Bitcoin is useless, and its advocates are like a cult, trying to convince people to buy bitcoin after buying it themselves.
Peter Schiff: ‘Bitcoin Is Nothing’
Peter Schiff, chief economist and global strategist at Europac, has railed against the utility and scarcity traits attributed to Bitcoin. In a recent post in X (formerly known as Twitter), Schiff stressed that Bitcoin had no purpose and that its advocates resembled a cult.
Schiff stated:
No one needs Bitcoin. So people only buy it after someone else talks them into doing so. Then once they buy, they immediately try to convince others to buy too. It’s like a cult.
Schiff made these remarks after pondering statements made by Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz on CNBC’s Squawk Box, where besides talking about the possible approval of a spot bitcoin ETF this year, he stated that Bitcoin “has always been an instrument that is sold, not bought,” with institutions “getting people in the first time and explaining to them what it is.”
Schiff has repeatedly attacked Bitcoin and its economic thesis before, calling it a con, a collectible digital token, stating that it was undesirable, and stressing that there were other ways of losing money besides buying bitcoin.
Not Scarce at All
Schiff also referred to the scarcity of bitcoin, criticizing the value of this property for the currency. Answering a follower who indicated that Bitcoin was “digital gold” and a “finite resource with unlimited fiat chasing,” Schiff declared:
Bitcoin is not a resource. It’s nothing. There are also 2.1 quadrillion Sats. So there is plenty of nothings to go around.
Another user compared bitcoin with gold, adding that, as Schiff had previously said about bitcoin, gold was also sold instead of bought and that gold traders tried to convince other traders to buy gold. Schiff disregarded the comment, stating that the user making these remarks knew “nothing about gold.”
Another user remarked that Bitcoin had value for individuals living in high inflationary environments and those unable to have a bank account. “Owning gold would put a target on their back. Not to mention a quick evacuation with gold is nearly impossible and totally impractical,” the user concluded.
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