Peter Schiff: Bitcoin’s rise has nothing to do with its supposed fundamentals; It’s a Trump-inspired mania

Economist Peter Schiff argued that the current Trump-inspired enthusiasm for Bitcoin was misplaced. He claimed that it would be short-lived, citing basic economic weaknesses that could hurt Bitcoin’s positive outlook.

According to Schiff, Trump’s claim to be the ‘Bitcoin president’ was just one of the many promises he would break. The economist insisted that focusing on Bitcoin’s bubble-driven growth would make it harder to achieve its long-term stability. 

Peter Schiff says Bitcoin’s rise is a ‘Trump myth’ driven by speculation and artificial growth

#Bitcoin's rise has nothing to do with its supposed fundamentals. The U.S. dollar is rising, #gold is falling, and the U.S. economy is believed to be on the verge of a boom, with debt-to-GDP plunging, reducing the need for U.S. dollar alternatives. It's a #Trump-inspired mania.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) November 11, 2024

Peter Schiff noted that Bitcoin’s rise to its current price of over $84K had nothing to do with its supposed intrinsic value. The founder of Schiff Sovereign harshly criticized the recent Trump-driven Bitcoin surge, pointing out that every president since Greenspan’s era in the 90s took credit for artificial economic growth that largely relied on bubbles. He insisted that the Bitcoin boom was only driven by optimism surrounding Trump’s stance in support of crypto.

The long-time Bitcoin critic remained unconvinced about the long-term prospects of the token. He emphasized that it could all come tumbling down if Trump failed to fulfill his pre-election crypto promises. Schiff asserted that Bitcoin promoters had corrupted many over the years.

“When Trump was not running for office, he spoke honestly about Bitcoin. He said it had no value, was based on thin air, was not a currency, could undermine the U.S. dollar, and was a threat to the American financial system.”

–Peter Schiff 

Notably, Peter Schiff disagreed with Trump’s earlier sentiments that Bitcoin would undermine the U.S. dollar or threaten the American financial system. Instead, it was his belief that Bitcoin was only a threat to those who invested in the token’s related businesses or HODL it.

Skeptics refute Trump’s direct influence over Bitcoin’s rally

Cathy Mulligan, a digital technology researcher and founding Co-Director of the Imperial College Centre for Cryptocurrency Research and Engineering, said it was extremely difficult to identify any correlation between Trump’s pro-crypto announcements and the currency’s skyrocketing. She added that Bitcoin prices needed to be examined over a longer period to determine if Trump had any real impact.

Mulligan pointed out that Trump Media stocks would also be soaring high if the president-elect had this kind of economic sway. She described the 4% Bitcoin price jump after Trump’s ‘historic Bitcoin payment’ at Pubkey as just a “small bump” that was insignificant compared to the near-record 9.5% spike earlier this year in February. 

Echoing Mulligan’s sentiments, David Gerard said that a few thousand dollar price fluctuations were normal for thinly traded commodities whose low trading volumes lead to greater price volatility. 

Peter McCormack, host of the ‘What Bitcoin Did’ podcast, insisted that other more significant events could have influenced Bitcoin prices. Chief among them was the Fed’s decision to lower benchmark interest rates. 

According to McCormack, the Bitcoin price movements observed over the past few days were normal. He added that Bitcoin moved up and down regularly due to diverse economic and market factors.