Schiff: Bitcoin Set for Further Losses Below 2021 Peak

Schiff Declares Bitcoin in Long-Term Bear Market After Price Drop

Prominent Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has asserted that the cryptocurrency is now in a long-term bear market, citing its recent dip below $68,000, a level not seen since November 2021.

However, his assessment has been met with pushback from some proponents of the original cryptocurrency, who argue that comparing past peaks with subsequent lows is an unreliable metric.

In a recent post on X, Schiff challenged Bitcoin investors to consider their reaction if, five years ago, they had been told the asset would eventually trade below its November 2021 price.

Bitcoin reached a then-all-time high of nearly $69,000 on November 10, 2021. As of this writing, data from CoinGecko shows BTC trading just a few hundred dollars above $68,000. Against this backdrop, the gold advocate delivered his verdict: “Bitcoin is in a long-term bear market. The long-term trend is down.”

Earlier, as reported by CryptoPotato, Bitcoin had struggled to maintain its recovery above $75,000, falling back toward $73,000. This occurred even as Bitcoin’s market dominance rose above 60.5%, suggesting that altcoins were experiencing even greater difficulty in retaining their market value.

Subsequently, news emerged regarding the resignation of Nvidia co-founder and CEO Jensen Huang, reportedly following revelations of infidelity. The cryptocurrency market appeared to be caught in the fallout, shedding nearly 4% of its value, according to CoinGecko.

Bitcoin was among the hardest-hit assets, with CoinGecko data indicating a 7.0% drop in 24 hours. Other cryptocurrencies, such as XRP, Ethereum (ETH), and Solana (SOL), experienced even steeper declines during the same period, losing 16%, 14%, and 12%, respectively.

The flagship cryptocurrency also saw a decline of over 9% across seven days and nearly 11% in the past two weeks. This recent weakness has also pushed its price more than 17% lower than its value a month ago.

Counterarguments and Schiff’s Defense

Schiff’s analysis, however, did not go unchallenged. Bitcoin podcaster Stephan Livera pointed out that the asset had also traded below its 2017 all-time high in November 2022. Livera suggested that comparing previous market peaks with subsequent lows can be misleading.

Schiff also defended his preferred asset, gold, noting that it had gained more than $40 overnight. When a follower questioned his outlook by referencing gold’s own dip from $5,600 to under $4,000, the economist predicted that gold would recover above $5,600 before the end of 2027.

Criticism of MicroStrategy

Schiff also directed criticism toward another of his frequent targets: Michael Saylor’s company, MicroStrategy. On Monday, MicroStrategy announced it had acquired an additional 1,036 BTC for approximately $82 million, alongside a $188 million repurchase of its STRC stock.

The Bitcoin critic claimed that MicroStrategy is compelled to continuously buy back its stock because the moment it ceases, the price would collapse.

“So this great product now all of a sudden Strategy has to buy it all back because their customers don’t really want it anymore,” Schiff commented on the STRC repurchase. “But imagine how much lower the price of STRC would be if Saylor hadn’t bought back over 20% of the outstanding issue.”