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 who's spent nearly a decade making blockchain understandable—no easy task when most whitepapers read like fever dreams. He writes for 24/7 Wall St., covering Bitcoin, altcoins, and crypto market analysis for investors. Before crypto, he was a tech writer (back when explaining "the cloud" was peak innovation). Since 2018, he's written for CoinTelegraph, Yahoo Finance, The Block, Cryptonews, Zypto, Rain, and more—basically anywhere people want crypto news without the headache. Sam runs MacLabs Marketing, a content agency for crypto brands tired of sounding like AI wrote their website. He also publishes free crypto education on his site for Web3 enthusiasts who think "gas fees" is a typo. When he's not writing or staring at charts, Sam's either: - Watching anime (currently convinced One Piece has better tokenomics than most altcoins) - At the gym sculpting himself into a Greek god - Listening to the music your mum warned you only bad boys listen to Connect: LinkedIn | Email | MacLabs Marketing
