Peter Schiff Says Bitcoin Near Bear Market When Priced In Gold, Gets Roasted on X

Peter Schiff said Bitcoin is approaching “bear market territory” when priced in gold, a claim that provoked a ferocious response from crypto supporters on X.

“Priced in gold, since hitting a high of about 37.2 ounces on Aug. 12, Bitcoin is down 18%, just 2% above official bear market territory,” Schiff wrote on X, highlighting gold’s recent record-breaking surge above $3,600 per ounce.

Schiff, a legendary investor with more than 1.1 million followers on X, added that when looking at Bitcoin priced in gold, the leading crypto is “currently almost 16% below its Nov. 2021 high.”

“How do you square this dismal performance with all the hype?” he asked crypto investors

X Users Remind Schiff That He Said Bitcoin Would Be Expensive At $750

They quickly hit back.

“If I look at a 5-year chart, gold is up around 85%,” said Rich Eddy (@richeddy). “Bitcoin is up 975% in that same time period. What is this ‘dismal performance’ to which you refer?”

“Gold is yesterday’s hedge,” said user Adam Weill. “Bitcoin is tomorrow’s system. Short-term volatility doesn’t erase a generational shift.”

Schiff replied, “Bitcoin is down 16% over four years. Does that count as short-term?”

Another X user shared a screenshot of an X post Schiff made in November 2018, when Schiff said investors should not “make the mistake of thinking that buying Bitcoin below $3,800 is a bargain.”

He also predicted back then that BTC could easily drop another 80%, adding that Bitcoin would “still be expensive” at $750. 

The debate reflects broader tensions over Bitcoin’s role as a store of value. While gold has long been a go-to hedge during economic uncertainty, some investors see Bitcoin as a modern alternative, one that has delivered outsized gains over the past several years despite short-term volatility.

That’s as the largest crypto by market cap trades flat at around $110K while the commodity’s price continues to soar.

Data from CoinMarketCap shows that BTC saw its price drop by a fraction of a percentage in the last 24 hours and has risen over 1% in the past week to trade at $110,679.97 as of 1:57 a.m. EST. 

Bitcoin price chart (Source: CoinMarketCap) 

Gold Price Soars To New All-Time High

Schiff’s post comes as gold’s price continues to climb.

On Friday, the commodity soared to above $3,600 per ounce, according to data from TradingView. This was a new all-time high for the commodity.

Gold price chart (Source: TradingView)

That follows gold’s surge of more than 8% over the past two months, and over 36% in the last year. 

Meanwhile, BTC has fallen around 5% in the last month, but is up over 104% on the longer-term yearly time frame.

Bitcoin also reached a new ATH of $124,457.12 on Aug. 14. It has since pulled back more than 11% to trade at its current level.

Schiff Disputes Whether BTC Is ‘Digital Gold’

Schiff has this year actively questioned BTC’s growing reputation as a type of “digital gold.” In May, he noted that central banks are buying up gold and not Bitcoin.

In June, he said that gold’s price rose while BTC’s value dropped during the Israel-Iran conflict, and in July he dismissed Bitcoin as a viable hedge against US dollar instability.