Institutional flows show divergence between gold and Bitcoin.
Gold advocate and long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has slammed Bitcoin’s multi-year rally as a bubble that is now deflating, claiming its price could fall as low as $40,000.
His comments come as Bitcoin’s price continues to decline, now trading 50% below its October 2025 peak of $126,000.
Meanwhile gold has continued to post strong gains, which he argued is a broader shift away from the U.S. dollar into de-dollarization.
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In a post on X on Monday, Schiff again criticized what he described as one-sided financial media coverage of Bitcoin’s recent decline.
“The financial media’s coverage of Bitcoin’s bear market is focused on where the bottom will be formed and how soon it will rally to a new record high,” Schiff wrote.
Adding: “None of the coverage focuses on the possibility that the entire bull market was a bubble and that the air is finally coming out.”
Bitcoin has fallen about 50% from its October peak, retreating from $126,000 to near $63,208 during bouts of market stress, including October’s tariff-driven volatility.
While Bitcoin still remains significantly up when zooming out, its recent pullbacks have increased wide-spread theories of Bitcoin “heading to zero.”
Peter Schiff vs. CNBC Continues
Schiff once again took aim at the mainstream’s financial coverage of gold, singling out CNBC for what he said was a failure to properly explain the metal’s rally.
“The only people CNBC invites on air to discuss gold are the ones who have no idea why the price keeps going up,” he wrote on X.
He added that commentators wrongly attribute the rise to momentum or capital flows without examining the underlying reasons for those flows.
Peter Schiff has again called out the mainstream media. | Source: X (@PeterSchiff)
In a recent podcast, he said some institutional investors who entered crypto markets in search of a dollar alternative were misled.
He said those looking for a safe-haven “got conned into the digital gold scam.”
He added that as “the air is coming out of the Bitcoin bubble,” private-sector demand for gold could increase.
Schiff predicted that a deeper Bitcoin correction, potentially below $50,000 or even $40,000, could further shift investor attention toward gold and mining stocks.
He also criticized pro-crypto policies associated with U.S. President Donald Trump, who has pledged to make the U.S. a global crypto hub.
Schiff called such efforts a “complete waste of resources and capital.”
Gold at $5,000? Schiff Cites De-Dollarization
Schiff also warned that people should see gold’s rally as a broader shift in monetary policy, claiming that the dollar was losing value.
“I think de-dollarization is happening. That’s why gold is $5,000,” Schiff said in the podcast.
“Central banks are moving away from dollars and into gold as an alternative. I think global investors are moving money out of the U.S.”
He added that foreign central banks have already determined that gold will replace the dollar as their primary reserve asset and predicted that central bank buying will continue.
Recent data show central banks purchasing gold at record levels.
Gold has surged about 55% over the past year, according to market data cited by analysts.
Hedge Funds Shift to Gold
Schiff’s remarks coincide with a broader rotation among investors.
Aggregate Bitcoin exchange-traded fund (ETF) allocations among the largest hedge fund holders fell 28% from the third to the fourth quarter of 2025, according to CF Benchmarks data cited by CCN analyst Victor Olanrewaju.
Meanwhile, gold ETFs now hold about $407 billion in assets, more than double the $166 billion held in Bitcoin ETFs.
This shift accelerated further during recent episodes of market stress.
When geopolitical tensions intensified in 2025, investors rotated into traditional safe-haven assets.
Pavel Efremog, director at digital asset firm FinchTrade, told CCN’s Olanrewaju that many funds had been exploiting price gaps between spot ETFs and futures contracts.
“It was an arbitrage strategy that required no view on Bitcoin whatsoever. Funds bought spot ETFs, shorted futures, and pocketed the difference. When that difference disappeared, so did they,” Efremog said.
Kurt Robson is a London-based reporter at CCN, specialising in the fast-moving worlds of crypto and emerging technology. He began his career covering local news in Cornwall after graduating from Falmouth University with First Class Honours in Journalism. There, he cut his teeth on everything from council meetings to missing swans.
He quickly rose through the ranks to become a frontline journalist at several of the UK’s leading national newspapers. Over the years, he has interviewed musicians and celebrities, reported from courtrooms and crime scenes, and secured multiple front-page exclusives.
Following the upheaval of the COVID-19 pandemic, Kurt shifted his focus to technology journalism—just ahead of the AI boom. With a natural curiosity and a trained eye for emerging trends, he has found a new rhythm in reporting on innovation.
At CCN, Kurt's work focuses on the cutting edge of crypto, blockchain, AI, and the evolving digital world. Drawing on his background in people-first reporting and his deep interest in disruptive tech, Kurt delivers stories that are insightful, entertaining, and human-centric.
