Peter Schiff, the outspoken gold advocate and longtime Bitcoin detractor, has revised his stance after Bitcoin's price surpassed his expectations and reached a new all-time high above $50,000. In a tweet on Tuesday (Feb 16), Schiff wrote: "Now that bitcoin has hit $50,000 I must admit that a move up to $100,000 can’t be ruled out." However, he promptly added: "A move down to zero can’t be ruled out either. While a temporary move up to $100K is possible, a permanent move down to zero is inevitable." He concluded with his usual recommendation: "If you don’t want to gamble buy gold."
Schiff's Shift and Defensive Stance
Schiff had been claiming since 2019 that Bitcoin would never reach $50,000. After Tuesday's milestone, he insisted he was "not wrong," arguing he only said it was "highly unlikely," not impossible. Yet several Twitter users surfaced an August 2019 post where he explicitly stated: "Bitcoin will never hit 50K." His son Spencer Schiff chimed in, mocking his father's prediction and suggesting a future tweet: "Now that bitcoin has hit $500,000 I must admit that a move up to $1,000,000 can’t be ruled out. However…"
Ongoing Clash with Max Keiser
The $50K price level has long been a point of contention between Schiff and Bitcoin proponent Max Keiser, who repeatedly stated that hitting this level would "trigger" Schiff into panic buying. Schiff has so far rejected that notion. He elaborated on his bubble theory: "At $50K bitcoin is the biggest bubble of them all," citing the lack of relationship between price and fundamental value, and high investor conviction in appreciation with low fear of loss.
Despite the partial concession, Schiff maintains his gold-first stance, arguing Bitcoin has no intrinsic value and will eventually go to zero. The crypto community, however, views his admission as a bullish sign. With Bitcoin hovering around $50K at press time, the debate continues. Whether the leading cryptocurrency will march toward $100K or suffer a dramatic crash remains an open question, but Schiff's evolving prediction has added another layer of intrigue to the market narrative.