Veteran economist and gold advocate Peter Schiff has reignited his long-running feud with the crypto community, claiming that Bitcoin’s narrative is collapsing as gold reclaims its position as the dominant store of value.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) shared on October 19, Schiff wrote: “Gold is the biggest threat to Bitcoin. That’s why the entire crypto industry is now attacking it. Bitcoin hype worked when gold spent over a decade consolidating its prior gains. But now that gold is surging, there is no longer a reason for anyone to buy Bitcoin instead.”
His comments come as spot gold prices hover near record highs, buoyed by safe-haven demand amid geopolitical tensions and U.S. Treasury volatility. Bitcoin, meanwhile, is holding around $109,000, recovering from last week’s sell-off but still facing macro-driven uncertainty.
Crypto strategists were quick to counter Schiff’s remarks. Market analyst Michaël van de Poppe noted that both assets can thrive simultaneously: “Gold and Bitcoin serve different generations, one is legacy insurance, the other is digital sovereignty.” Others argued that institutional portfolios increasingly include both assets as complementary hedges against inflation and monetary debasement.
Data from CoinShares supports this view: digital asset funds saw $326 million in inflows last week, while gold ETFs recorded gains for the third consecutive week, evidence that investors are diversifying rather than choosing one side.
Schiff’s anti-Bitcoin stance is nothing new. He has repeatedly dismissed the cryptocurrency as “digital fool’s gold,” yet Bitcoin’s performance since 2020 has far outpaced gold’s on a percentage basis. Still, his latest remarks highlight the renewed competition for capital between traditional safe-haven assets and decentralized alternatives as macro uncertainty deepens.
