On Wednesday (February 19), famous gold bug and Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff talked about Bitcoin’s next block mining reward halving.
Schiff is the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital, a full-service, registered broker/dealer specializing in foreign markets and securities, and founder and Chairman of SchiffGold, a full-service, discount precious metals dealer. He is also a man who is extremely bullish on gold, bearish on the U.S. dollar, and highly skeptical about Bitcoin.
This is what Schiff said about the next Bitcoin halving (expected to take a place around 12 May 2020):
#Bitcoin bugs have been buying in anticipation of the May 12th halving. It's widely anticipated that following the halving Bitcoin’s price will surge. But if by the time the halving arrives those looking to profit have already bought, the halving itself will result in selling.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) February 19, 2020
On Monday (February 17), Schiff said that he was misunderstood on his outlook on Bitcoin. First, he wanted everyone to know that he does realize that Bitcoin could go up further in value and that those who bought Bitcoin early and selling today could make huge profits.
Second, he said that Bitcoin has only had one main use case until now — i.e. speculation — and that it has never really been used a medium of exchange and that this would be unlikely to ever happen in the future.
I concede that anyone who bought #Bitcoin 10 years ago and sells it today will make a lot of money. But I never said the price of Bitcoin could not rise. I only said that Bitcoin would never succeed as money. Nothing that has happened over the past 10 years has proven me wrong!
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) February 17, 2020
They are not using it as money, but for speculation. Show me merchants that price their goods and services in Bitcoin. Show me a Bitcoin denominated bond market, insurance policy, or annuity?
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) February 17, 2020
Then, the next day, Schiff complained that Bitcoin shills were incorrectly saying that he had become bullish on Bitcoin because he had said in one tweet that those who had bought BTC 10 years ago would make “a lot of money” if they sold today, and that he was still bearish on Bitcoin:
Some Bitcoin promoters are deliberately misrepresenting my concession that anyone who bought Bitcoin 10 years ago and sells now will make money as an endorsement of buying #Bitcoin today. It is not. Those who buy today and sell 10 years from now will likely do so at a loss.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) February 18, 2020
