Bitcoin’s climb past the $121,000 this week has put it back in the headlines, but not everyone is impressed. On Monday morning, the largest cryptocurrency reached $122,335 before settling at around $121,186, marking another week of growth and keeping it within reach of record territory.
For many on the market, that is a milestone worth celebrating. For Peter Schiff, however, it is just another red flag.
Schiff accompanied Bitcoin price growth saying that it was simply "more people getting sucked into the biggest investment scam in history." This is not the first time he has dismissed Bitcoin's price action, and given his history, it likely will not be the last.
It is the same ol' story — while technical traders see a clear path to reaching new highs if $125,000 is surpassed, critics like Schiff argue that such levels are driven more by speculation than substance.
What if?
If one were to try Schiff's perspective, they would say If a crypto winter ever hits in this cycle, it might look very different from previous ones. The market's structure has changed: ETFs are now part of the mix, public companies are holding BTC in their treasuries and entire stock valuations are starting to depend on Bitcoin reserves.
In some ways, it is a setup that echoes the 2008 mortgage bubble, where banks and insurers loaded up on complex derivatives until liquidity suddenly vanished.
If a major "Bitcoin proxy" stock were to collapse, it could trigger a feedback loop of falling BTC prices, sliding share values and drying up of corporate buying, forcing out debt-heavy late entrants first.
For now, conditions appear calm, but the real risk is not just the price of Bitcoin; it is what will happen to the companies built around it when potential buyers disappear.
Dan Burgin
Vladislav Sopov
U.Today Editorial Team