Economist Peter Schiff is the favorite opponent of bitcoin evangelists on social media.
He's very active there, and he seems fond of his role as bitcoin's doomsayer, deploring its meteoric rise and predicting its collapse.
He does not hesitate to return the blows given by the champions of crypto. When the prices of bitcoin and alt coins rise, Schiff knows that he will, of course, be the object of ridicule from crypto supporters who often take the opportunity to bring out his pessimistic predictions.
But when prices fall, he does not hesitate to hit back. This is currently the case as the prices of bitcoin and digital currencies are melting to levels not seen since July 2021.
'Bad Decision'
Bitcoin prices were down sharply, dropping as low as $31,434.54 at last check, according to CoinGecko. We are 54% below the $69,044.77 record reached Nov. 10. The crypto market broadly fell to $1.53 trillion from its $3 trillion record.
"If #Bitcoin breaks decisively below $30K it seems highly likely that it will crash below $10K," Schiff wrote on May 8 to his more than 708,000 followers on Twitter. "That means anyone who owns Bitcoin now has a very important decision to make. What will you do? You had better decide now so you don't panic and make a rash spur-of-the-moment decision."
Schiff. who is chief economist and global strategist for Euro Pacific Capital, held a poll in which he gave Twitter users who invested in bitcoin four options to choose from:
Bitcoin:
- won't break below $30k
- I'll HOLD
- I'll sell and rebuy lower
- I'll sell and won't rebuy
"I left out the option of buying the dip," Schiff said. "I'll assume many HODLers will do this until they run out of money. Bad decision."
HODL stands for hold on for dear life and it's a popular term among crypto enthusiasts. It's similar to the investment strategy of buy and hold.
'Bitcoin Is About to Crash'
The prices of cryptocurrencies have been moving for some time now in correlation with the stock market, and more particularly the shares of tech groups.
According to a number of experts, investors who back tech companies often also bet on crypto. Therefore, when growth fears escalate, as is currently the case, risky assets are the first that investors liquidate.
Schiff does not hesitate to remind crypto fans -- and companies that have invested in bitcoin -- of this connection.
"Take a look at some other big crypto names today," Schiff posted on May 9. "$GLXY-T down 20%, $BITF down 16.5%, $HIVE down 15%, and $SQ down 13.5%. This is not normal stock market action," he added referring to Galaxy Digital, Bitfarms Ltd and Hive Blockchain Technologies.
"#Bitcoin is about to crash. Wake up HODLers and sell while you still can. Don't say I didn't warn you!"
Schiff may well not be done since he has also attacked other companies with bitcoin investment strategies, such as billionaire Michael Saylor's MicroStrategy (MSTR), crypto exchange Coinbase (COIN) and Grayscale Bitcoin Trust. (GBTC)
"The three most important #crypto bell weather stocks are getting killed today," Schiff said. "$MSTR is down 22%, $COIN is down 16% and $GBTC is down 13%. These stocks are down 74%, 76%, and 63% from their respective highs. All this with #Bitcoin still above $32K. Wait until Bitcoin crashes!"
So far, Schiff's favorite opponents have not responded to his attacks. If the market were to turn around suddenly -- crypto prices are very volatile -- we would definitely hear them.
In the meantime, the economist savors the situation.
