Peter Schiff, CEO of Euro Pacific Capital and a well-known Bitcoin bear, has recently told investors that this is “their last chance” to sell their Bitcoin ($BTC) holdings and buy gold and silver instead, with the alternative being to “have fun staying poor.”
Schiff’s words come after the price of Bitcoin moved up over 63% year-to-date and more than 158% over the last six months, but after it stalled over the last 30 days at around the $69,000 mark.
In a post shared on the microblogging platform X (formerly known as Twitter), Schiff told his over 1 million followers to drop Bitcoin and instead buy gold and silver “at favorable prices.”
Schiff has a history of taking a contrarian stance on Bitcoin. In February 2021, with Bitcoin at $50,000, he predicted a “permanent move down to zero” was “inevitable” despite the possibility of a temporary rise to $100,000.
Schiff’s cautionary message stands in stark contrast to the optimism of many cryptocurrency investors. Cathie Wood, CEO of Ark Invest, has famously predicted Bitcoin could reach $1.5 million by 2030, a staggering increase of over 2,000% from its current price around $69,000.
The current bullish sentiment surrounding Bitcoin hasn’t shaken Schiff’s skepticism, as last month he drew a parallel between the current price surge and the dramatic crash Bitcoin’s price experienced back in November 2021, after hitting a then new high over $69,000.
In a post on X, Schiff said that a year later Bitcoin’s price dropped to less ta $16,000 a coin after a near 80% correction. Despite his skepticism the well-known American financial commentator and author has admitted to regretting not buying Bitcoin back in 2010, when it was nearly worthless.
Recently Julio Moreno, Head of Research at cryptocurrency analytics firm CryptoQuant, revealed that demand for the flagship cryptocurrency “has become more important than supply” and, according to the firm’s data, demand for BTC from permanent holders has for the first time ever outpaced issuance.
Data from CryptoQuant shows that known exchange addresses now hold roughly 1.94 million BTC, a figure that represents a mere 9.8% of Bitcoin’s total circulating supply of around 19.67 million coins.
These exchange reserves have been steadily declining from a peak of 2.85 million BTC seen in July 2021, with the diminishing supply on exchanges suggesting that investors are increasingly taking a long-term holding strategy rather than being actively trading.
Featured image via Unsplash.
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