- Peter Schiff claims Bitcoin is in a “stealth bear market,” underperforming compared to gold.
- Schiff notes Bitcoin has fallen 27% from its peak when valued against gold over the last 2.5 years.
- Despite strong market performance, Bitcoin has not surpassed its all-time high when priced in gold.
Peter Schiff, a vocal critic of Bitcoin, recently expressed skepticism about the cryptocurrency’s market performance, especially when compared to gold, just days before Bitcoin’s scheduled halving. Schiff, who leads Euro Pacific Capital, has highlighted that despite the crypto’s strong rallies, it has consistently underperformed in comparison to gold over the past few years.
Bitcoin Versus Gold: A Financial Analysis
Schiff points out that Bitcoin’s value relative to gold has notably decreased. He shared in a recent tweet that Bitcoin is now trading below 27 ounces of gold, marking a significant drop of over 27% from its high of 37 ounces of gold reached two and a half years ago. His observations suggest that Bitcoin is deepening into what he terms a “stealth bear market,” a trend that has not been widely covered by the media.
In his podcast, Schiff further elaborated that the current price of Bitcoin equates to approximately 18.6 ounces of gold, down from its previous high of 27 ounces. He emphasized that despite the enthusiasm surrounding Bitcoin, including the investments flowing into ETFs and the general market hype, Bitcoin has failed to establish new highs in terms of gold value, hinting that it might not do so in the future.
Comparative Market Performance
While Bitcoin has seen one of its most robust bull runs, recovering impressively from a three-year low of $15,500 after the FTX collapse in November 2022, it has not managed a significant new high beyond the $73,000 mark it briefly touched in March last year. According to data from CoinGecko, Bitcoin’s price was around $63,660 at the time of reporting, maintaining a level above $60,000 since late February amidst optimistic market sentiment.
Conversely, the price of gold has experienced substantial growth, increasing by 17% in 2024 alone and reaching new all-time highs after four consecutive weeks of gains. This performance contrasts sharply with Bitcoin’s, which, despite a considerable year-to-date increase, has not revisited its peak prices.
Schiff’s criticism of Bitcoin is not new. He famously claimed in August 2019 that Bitcoin would never reach $50,000, celebrating prematurely when the price dropped below $7,000, and later below $4,000. However, his predictions were proven incorrect when Bitcoin soared past $50,000 less than two years later.
