"Bitcoin will go to zero."
Peter Schiff has been saying this. Since 2011. Every year. Sometimes multiple times per month.
Bitcoin was at $1 when he first said it. Today it's above $80,000. That's a misprediction of 8,000,000%.
And he keeps going.
Why am I telling you this? Not to mock Peter Schiff. He's intelligent, argues consistently, and his core argument (gold has physical value, Bitcoin doesn't) deserves a serious discussion. But his PREDICTIONS are a textbook example of how dangerous it is to confuse a belief with a forecast.
Who Is Peter Schiff?
Peter Schiff is an economist, hedge fund manager, and arguably the most famous gold advocate in the world. He correctly predicted the 2008 housing crash. He owns a bank (Euro Pacific Bank). And he hates Bitcoin. Passionately.
On Twitter (X) he has over 1 million followers. He posts against Bitcoin almost daily. The crypto scene has turned him into their favorite villain.
The Schiff Timeline: Every Major Misprediction
| Year | Schiff says | BTC price | What happened next |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Bitcoin is worthless" | ~$5 | Rose to $1,100 (2013) |
| 2013 | "Bitcoin is a bubble that will burst" | ~$800 | Fell to $200, then rose to $20,000 |
| 2017 | "Bitcoin is digital fool's gold" | ~$10,000 | Rose to $20,000, then crashed |
| 2019 | "Bitcoin will never reach $100,000" | ~$3,800 | Reached $73,000 (2024), $126,000 (2025) |
| 2020 | "Bitcoin will go to zero" | ~$9,000 | Rose to $69,000 |
| 2022 | "Bitcoin has no utility, too slow, too expensive" | ~$20,000 | Rose to $73,000 |
| 2023 | "The 2025 financial crisis will kill Bitcoin" | ~$27,000 | Bitcoin reached $126,000 in 2025 |
| 2025 | "The Bitcoin trade is over. All the fools are in." | ~$85,000 | Rose to $126,000 |
The website bitcoindeaths.com tracks all "Bitcoin is dead" claims. Schiff is a regular there.
Gold vs Bitcoin: What Do the Data Say?
This is where it gets interesting. Because Schiff doesn't just say "Bitcoin is bad." He says: "Gold is better." Is that true?
| Period | Gold | Bitcoin | Winner |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015-2025 (10 years) | +110% | +25,000% | BTC (227x) |
| 2020-2025 (5 years) | +100% | +700% | BTC (7x) |
| 2024 (1 year) | +100% | +150% | BTC |
| 2025 (year to date) | +25% | -10% | Gold |
The long-term data is clear: Bitcoin has MASSIVELY beaten gold over every time period beyond 2 years.
But in 2025, gold has actually performed better. Gold rose to over $4,400 per ounce (record), while Bitcoin fell from $126,000 to ~$84,000. Schiff celebrates this on Twitter. Every day.
Remember this: In the short term, gold can beat Bitcoin. In the long term, Bitcoin has beaten gold by a factor of 1,000+ over the past 15 years. Which time horizon you choose determines who's "right."
Where Schiff IS Right
To be fair: not everything Schiff says is wrong.
1. Bitcoin has no intrinsic value. True. Bitcoin has no physical utility like gold (electronics, jewelry, industry). Its value is based EXCLUSIVELY on people being willing to pay for it. That's a fair criticism.
2. Bitcoin is extremely volatile. True. -78% drawdown in 2022. -50% within a few months in 2025. Gold rarely swings more than 20% per year. If you want stability, gold is a better bet.
3. Governments COULD ban Bitcoin. Theoretically possible. China did it. Whether Western democracies will follow is unclear. With gold this risk is smaller (but not zero — see the USA in 1933).
Where Schiff IS Wrong
1. "Bitcoin will go to zero." In 15 years, Bitcoin has never gone to zero. It has survived every crash. Every ban. Every scandal (FTX, Luna, Mt. Gox). The "to zero" thesis becomes less likely with each passing year. Schiff himself admitted this in 2024: "Probably not zero in the next 5-10 years."
2. "Nobody USES Bitcoin." El Salvador (briefly legal tender), Bitcoin ETFs ($50+ billion AUM), Lightning Network for payments, MicroStrategy ($59 billion in BTC). The adoption is real.
3. "Gold is the better investment." Over 15 years: no. Over 10 years: no. Over 5 years: no. Over 1 year (2025): yes. The problem: Schiff recommends gold PERMANENTLY. And permanently recommending gold while Bitcoin does 25,000% is not a great track record.
The Deeper Lesson
Peter Schiff is no fool. He's an intelligent economist with a consistent worldview: physical value > digital promises.
The problem isn't his ANALYSIS. The problem is his PREDICTIONS.
You can simultaneously believe:
- Gold has fundamental value (correct)
- Bitcoin is speculative (partially correct)
- AND: Bitcoin can still rise 25,000% (also correct)
Schiff confuses "I don't like Bitcoin" with "Bitcoin will fall." Those are two completely different statements.
Remember this: An opinion is not a prediction. And a prediction that's been wrong for 15 years shouldn't be called "brave" anymore. It should be called "wrong."
What This Means for YOU
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Don't listen to gurus. Not Schiff. Not Cramer. Not Twitter influencers. Listen to data.
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Gold AND Bitcoin can coexist. You don't have to choose. Many smart portfolios have both.
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Long-term time horizon beats short-term predictions. Whoever bought gold instead of Bitcoin in 2019 because Schiff said so made +110% instead of +25,000%.
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Strong opinions aren't the same as good predictions. Schiff has a strong opinion. His track record on predictions is catastrophic.
→ The Inverse Cramer Index — The other prominent misprediction artist
→ 8 Crypto Stories You Won't Forget — From pizzas to billion-dollar crashes
→ HODL: Where Does the Word Come From? — The counter-strategy to Schiff's advice
→ DCA Savings Plan Calculator — What a Bitcoin savings plan would have returned
→ What Does the Bot Say Right Now? — A signal based on data, not opinions
Your Dominic, the guy who owns both gold and Bitcoin. And listens to neither Schiff nor Twitter.
Sources
- BitcoinDeaths: Peter Schiff Bitcoin Predictions
- CCN: Peter Schiff Bitcoin Slow Death (2025)
- ZyCrypto: Peter Schiff Admits Bitcoin Won't Go To Zero
- CoinGape: Bitcoin Price Will Never Rise — Peter Schiff
- Crypto.news: Peter Schiff at Bitcoin 2025
Disclaimer: This is not investment advice. Neither gold nor Bitcoin is a risk-free investment. Peter Schiff deserves respect for his consistency, even if his predictions have been wrong.
