Peter Schiff Says Sell Bitcoin and Buy Gold. Is He Right This Time?
Peter Schiff is back urging investors to dump Bitcoin for gold, and his track record of missed calls makes it tempting to dismiss him. But his latest warning lands at a moment when Bitcoin sits 35% below its all-time high…
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Peter Schiff, an economist known for advocating gold and criticizing Bitcoin, is back with his familiar advice: he tells Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC) investors to switch. In a post on X circulating on October 16, 2026, he urged, “SELL your Bitcoin before the bottom drops out of the market and buy gold.”
As of October 16, Bitcoin is trading at $81,548, up 6.8% over the past month but down 1.7% over the past week. It sits 35.3% below its all-time high of $126,080, reached on October 6, 2025.
Schiff has suggested selling Bitcoin multiple times, but many of those predictions haven’t aged well. So, is he onto something this time?
Gold Has Lost Less Than Bitcoin in 2026, but Both Are Down
Bitcoin closed the previous year at about $87,498, down 6.8% since January. In contrast, gold’s spot price fell from around $4,354 at the end of December 2025 to about $4,155 by October 16, marking a smaller 4.6% drop.
While Schiff is technically right that gold has lost less value than Bitcoin in 2026, gold peaked earlier in the year, making its decline look more dramatic. From its February close of about $5,279, gold has now dropped 21.3%.
Most of Peter Schiff’s Bitcoin Sell Calls Have Missed
Looking back at Schiff’s previous sell calls on Twitter, many have not held up, with Bitcoin’s price often rising afterward. Here’s a summary of some of his notable predictions:
- June 18, 2022: Schiff claimed, “This crash is just beginning. #Bitcoin will not recover.” Outcome: Bitcoin hit a record high of $126,080 on October 6, 2025.
- February 9, 2026: He stated, “The $126K ATH may have been the final ATH.” Outcome: Bitcoin has not yet reached a new record and currently trades 35.3% below that peak.
- June 30, 2026: He suggested, “Bitcoin has support at $58,000. I doubt it will hold.” Outcome: Bitcoin dipped to $57,717 in late June but then bounced back above that level.
- August 17, 2026: He warned, “Remember, $65K is resistance.” Outcome: Bitcoin surged 26.1% from just below $65,000 on August 18.
In his June 30 post, Schiff went further, predicting Bitcoin could fall below $50,000 and test a low from August 2024. However, the late-June low held, and Bitcoin’s dip on October 15 stopped at about $79,806, well above his projected break level.
Higher Interest Rates Are Dragging Down Both Bitcoin and Gold
Higher interest rates and rising inflation have negatively affected both Bitcoin and gold. In September, U.S. inflation increased to 3.7% from 3.4% in August, and the Federal Reserve raised interest rates on September 16. Because neither gold nor Bitcoin pays interest, rising rates make them less appealing than interest-bearing assets.
Bitcoin is particularly sensitive to leveraged trading. The recent drop below $80,000 on October 15 triggered about $972 million in liquidations, which occur when a trader’s collateral is insufficient to maintain borrowed positions. Notably, 91.7% of these liquidated positions were long trades, which benefit from price increases.
Bitcoin has been in a downward trend for nearly a year, first closing below $100,000 on November 13, 2025, and hasn’t returned to that level since. Its 2026 high was about $97,964 on January 14, just a few weeks before Schiff predicted a final all-time high.
Is Peter Schiff Right About Bitcoin This Time?
While Schiff raises valid points about gold outperforming this year, it seems unlikely he will be right about Bitcoin’s next big move. His two most recent predictions have missed the mark: Bitcoin bounced back from just under the $58,000 support level he doubted and rose 26.1% from just below the resistance level he mentioned.
Gold, although it has fared slightly better in 2026, has still fallen 4.6% year-to-date and 21.3% from its February close due to rising interest rates. If Schiff’s sell call proves right, Bitcoin would need to close below the late-June low of $57,717 and then fall below $50,000. If Bitcoin stays above $57,717 into 2027, this prediction could join his earlier misses.
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Sam Daodu is a crypto analyst and the editor of 24/7 Wall St.'s Crypto Desk, where he covers Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana and the altcoins investors search for most. His work focuses on price levels, spot ETF flows, on-chain data and the regulatory decisions that move crypto markets, written so a first-time buyer and a seasoned trader can both use it.
Sam has written about crypto professionally since 2019 and has published more than 2,000 articles. Before joining 24/7 Wall St., he wrote for crypto media outlets and Web3 companies and ghostwrote for crypto founders and token launches. His analysis is syndicated on Yahoo Finance, MSN and AOL and has been cited by other crypto news sites. He also founded MacLabs Marketing, a content and personal branding agency for crypto founders and executives.
When he isn't reading charts, Sam is usually at the gym or watching One Piece, a series he maintains has better tokenomics than most altcoins.
