Peter Schiff is no stranger to criticizing Bitcoin, but his latest comments add a new dimension to the ongoing debate. Buying Bitcoin might be a gamble, but buying shares in companies that mostly hold Bitcoin? That is something he sees as outright ridiculous.
Schiff points out what he sees as a contradiction. If someone believes in Bitcoin enough to want exposure, why go through the added layer of a public company whose entire strategy is to buy and hold Bitcoin?
These so-called "Bitcoin treasury" companies do not offer the benefits of a real business, nor do they provide direct ownership of the asset, he says. In Schiff's view, they offer the worst of both worlds.
It is no longer a niche case. Strategy tops the list with over 568,000 BTC - worth about $123 billion - on its books. Others, such as Tesla, Block, Coinbase, Metaplanet and Next Technology Holding, are following suit. For some, like CleanSpark and Hut 8, Bitcoin holdings are tied to broader mining operations. For others, however, Bitcoin is the strategy.
To Schiff, the logic just does not hold. If Bitcoin’s price goes up, sure - these stocks might rise. But their value is tied almost entirely to the same market volatility and speculation. And unlike Bitcoin, the shares carry added baggage: management risk, regulatory exposure and operational uncertainty.
What these companies increasingly represent, he suggests, is an unnecessary layer of complexity. If investors believe in Bitcoin’s long-term value, why go through the extra step of a corporate wrapper that does little more than mirror its price?
For now, the market seems willing to reward these moves. However, Schiff's warning is clear: if buying Bitcoin is speculative, then buying stock in a Bitcoin proxy company that does not build, sell or create anything else might be an even more absurd trade.
Vladislav Sopov
Dan Burgin