Well-known skeptic of the first cryptocurrency, Peter Schiff, made an unexpected admission: he acknowledges that he could have made a good profit on Bitcoin (BTC). However, according to him, he does not regret his choice at all. Moreover, Schiff claims that long-term holders of the coin—those very HODLers who have not sold their assets for years—ultimately lost much more than he did.
This statement came in the context of his reflections on artificial intelligence (AI) and the future of cryptocurrencies. Schiff believes that AI technologies pose a far more serious threat to Bitcoin than is commonly thought, and that they are more likely to harm the first cryptocurrency than help it.
A Five-Year War with Bitcoin: Schiff's Strategy
Schiff emphasizes that for about five years now, he has deliberately steered clear of Bitcoin and sees no tragedy in that. He is confident that his position has proven more advantageous compared to those who followed the "buy and hold" strategy, ignoring market fluctuations.
"Yes, I could have made a lot of money on BTC. But that is no longer relevant. Over the past five years, it has been more profitable for me not to own Bitcoin. Cryptocurrency holders lost a lot of money because they did not sell their coins," Peter Schiff stated.
Such skepticism is nothing new for Schiff. He has repeatedly called the rise in the BTC exchange rate a reason to sell, rather than a signal for investment. During downturns, he traditionally promotes gold as a more reliable store of value. Let me remind you that last week he advised selling cryptocurrency as it approached the $65,000 mark, after which the asset's price reached $79,500.
AI vs. Bitcoin: Escalation of the Confrontation
In his original post, Schiff pointed out that artificial intelligence is siphoning speculative money, electricity, and data center capacity away from Bitcoin. In his opinion, over time, the technology will find weaknesses in the code and cryptography of the first cryptocurrency that developers have overlooked.
The crypto market, meanwhile, is already feeling the impact of the new technology. AI-driven inflation has kept Bitcoin in a narrow price range over the past few months. No one has yet proven a real threat to network security, but the debate itself only fuels the long-standing rivalry in the industry.
Analyst's comment: Schiff's position is a classic example of defending one's own ego in the face of missed gains. However, his thesis about AI's impact on inflation and, consequently, on Bitcoin's exchange rate deserves attention. For now, AI is indeed drawing significant resources to itself, but calling this a fatal threat to BTC is a clear exaggeration. In the long term, Bitcoin remains a tool for hedging inflation, not its victim.