American investor and strong Gold advocate Peter Schiff, has renewed his criticism of Bitcoin, arguing that investors who sold their gold holdings to buy the cryptocurrency made “a huge mistake.”
The longtime Bitcoin critic insists that abandoning the traditional safe-haven asset for digital coins could prove increasingly costly, especially as market volatility persists and economic uncertainty deepens.
In a post on X, he wrote,
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“Bitcoin is back below $66,000. More significantly, it is back below 13 ounces of gold 64% below its November 2021 high. People who sold gold to buy Bitcoin made a huge mistake. The longer they wait to correct it, the more costly it becomes.”
At the time of Schiff’s post, Bitcoin was trading just under $66,000. His comment comes as the crypto asset recent attempt at recovery appears to be losing momentum as bearish pressure creeps back into the market.
After a brief period of optimism that saw prices stabilize trading above $72,000, BTC has been on a downward trajectory, reflecting a sharp shift in investor sentiment.
Earlier this year, Bitcoin has been very volatile with a selloff that worsened after U.S President Donald Trump announced Kevin Warsh as the nominee to become the next Federal Reserve chair.
Federal Reserve governor Christopher Waller had said that the crypto sector is detached from the traditional finance world and can therefore see big crashes. “I think there was a lot of sell off, just because firms that got into it from mainstream finance had to adjust their risk positions,” he said.
Market indicators now suggest that fear is once again dominating trader psychology, raising concerns about whether the slight pullback that saw BTC trade to around $68,000, is a temporary correction or the start of a deeper slide.
The Santiment chart shows that Bitcoin traders are still in strong fear mode, even after the price recovery. Market sentiment has not recovered at the same pace as the price.
With spot gold hovering near $5,000–$5,080 per ounce, one Bitcoin equated to roughly 12.9–13.2 ounces of gold. In November 2021, during Bitcoin’s previous bull-market climax, BTC briefly approached or exceeded ratios equivalent to about 36–37 ounces of gold (when Bitcoin hit $69,000 and gold was around $1,800–$1,900/oz).
A drop to 13 ounces represents a roughly 64–65% decline in Bitcoin’s gold-denominated purchasing power framing it, in Schiff’s view, as a long-term bear market when measured against the yellow metal.
As of the early hours of February 12, Bitcoin stabilized slightly higher around $67,000–$67,500, but the ratio remains in the low-13-ounce range given gold’s continued strength above $5,000/oz.
Schiff’s who famously predicted the 2008 financial crisis and has consistently promoted physical gold and silver, has used the BTC/gold ratio as a key metric for years.
He argues that Bitcoin lacks the intrinsic qualities of precious metals scarcity backed by geology, industrial/monetary history, and non-reliance on electricity/internet infrastructure and serves more as a speculative asset prone to boom-bust cycles.
Since 2013, Bitcoin has delivered massive gains compared to gold’s more modest returns, even after corrections. Many view the current dip as part of normal crypto volatility within a larger adoption cycle, not a fundamental failure.
Replies to Schiff’s post were polarized with some mocking his repeated “Bitcoin is dead” style calls (which have persisted since 2013), others agreeing that gold’s stability looks attractive amid crypto’s leverage-driven swings.
Outlook
Looking ahead, the Bitcoin–gold debate is unlikely to fade anytime soon. Much will depend on macroeconomic conditions, including U.S. monetary policy, inflation trends, ETF inflows, and overall risk appetite in global markets.
If the Federal Reserve signals tighter liquidity or delays rate cuts, risk assets like Bitcoin could face renewed pressure, potentially strengthening Schiff’s argument in the short term.
However, Bitcoin’s long-term outlook continues to be driven by institutional adoption, regulatory clarity, and its positioning as a digital store of value.
While Schiff frames the shift from gold to Bitcoin as a costly error, some portfolio strategists argue that a diversified exposure to both traditional safe-haven assets and digital alternatives may better position investors for an increasingly complex financial landscape.