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Key Takeaways
Peter Schiff says Bitcoin's bubble has burst.
Anthony Pompliano defends Bitcoin's long-term track record.
Schiff renewed attacks on Strategy and Saylor.
Famed Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has admitted that Bitcoin's price may not go to zero, a prediction he has been pushing for months.
The comments come amid his claims that the Bitcoin "bubble has burst" during a one-on-one debate with investor Anthony Pompliano on Fox Business.
Schiff argued that Bitcoin's rally has largely benefited early adopters while newer investors have seen limited returns.
"Bitcoin is really no higher than it was five years ago," Schiff said.
"It's just been going sideways as all the money has been pouring in. The early money has been getting out."
The economist and gold advocate dismissed Bitcoin as "digital nothing," comparing the crypto to a pyramid scheme.
"There is no real long-term for Bitcoin. It's been around 16 or 17 years," Schiff said.
Adding: "Most of the people who are in Bitcoin weren't in it back then. They don't have the big gains."
Pompliano pushed back against Schiff's criticism, arguing that Bitcoin's long-term performance remains unmatched among major asset classes.
"What Bitcoin has shown is that it is the best-performing asset over long periods of time," Pompliano said — adding that Bitcoin's 10-year compounded growth rate significantly exceeds that of gold.
The investor said volatility should not be viewed solely as a risk, arguing that substantial long-term gains often accompany large drawdowns.
"The reason why you need volatility is because when you get these massive moves up, of course there's going to be drawdowns and consolidations," Pompliano said.
Pompliano also argued that concerns about government money printing continue to support both gold and Bitcoin.
However, he said he prefers Bitcoin because of its higher upside potential and longer-term growth prospects.
The two also sparred over whether Bitcoin has become part of the financial establishment it was originally designed to challenge.
Schiff argued that Bitcoin's recent rise has been aided by political support and industry lobbying.
"The crypto community was among the biggest donors in the last election cycle," Schiff said, accusing the industry of seeking political support to "prop up Bitcoin."
Pompliano countered that politicians often embrace technologies and industries after they gain widespread public support.
"…one of the things that politicians are very good at is they're very good at hearing what people think that they want," Pompilano said.
"… it's very funny, because four or five years ago every politician pretty much hated this stuff. All of a sudden, both left, Trump admits Republicans and Democrats, they all love it."
Schiff also recently criticized Michael Saylor's Strategy and its continued efforts to acquire Bitcoin through capital markets transactions.
His comments followed Strategy's disclosure that it had purchased 1,587 Bitcoin for approximately $100 million on Monday.
Responding to the purchase, Schiff said the company was now harming common shareholders to maintain returns promised to preferred shareholders.
"So that's your new strategy?" Schiff responded on X.
"Sacrifice common shareholders with a negative Bitcoin yield to keep paying the yield on the preferreds and prop up the Bitcoin price."
Schiff argued that Strategy's model had evolved from selling shares at a premium to issuing debt and preferred stock to fund Bitcoin purchases — and now relies on issuing common shares at a discount.
Schiff's latest criticism is the newest chapter in a years-long public dispute with Saylor. The two have repeatedly clashed over Bitcoin's value proposition.
According to data compiled by bitcoindeaths.com, Schiff has made at least 22 public declarations that Bitcoin was effectively "dead" since 2011, more than any other critic tracked by the website.
His first warning came when Bitcoin traded near $17, while the most recent bearish calls in early 2026 came when the price was between $60,000 and $65,000.
Based on Bitcoin's price near the time of Schiff's first recorded criticism, the cryptocurrency has risen more than 4,000-fold.
In April, Saylor responded to one of Schiff's predictions by arguing that Bitcoin has been the best-performing major asset since Strategy began accumulating it in 2020.
"Timeframes matter," Saylor said.
