Economist and gold bug Peter Schiff expects the approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to be a nonevent. The crypto skeptic explained that there is “really no need for a bitcoin ETF, as you can buy and store bitcoin yourself for free.” He predicted: “There will be minimal investor demand and the speculators who bought on the news will likely sell on the fact.”
Schiff Throws Cold Water on Spot Bitcoin ETF
Peter Schiff, chief economist at Euro Pacific Asset Management and founder of Schiff Gold, expressed his view on the expected approval of spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in a series of posts on social media platform X this week. The first deadline this year for the SEC to approve a spot bitcoin ETF is Jan. 10 for a joint proposal from Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest and 21shares.
“Be careful what you wish for,” Schiff wrote on X Tuesday. “The promise of a U.S.-listed spot bitcoin ETF has been supporting the bitcoin price and speculative demand for years. Once the ETFs are launched and the highly anticipated institutional and other new investor demand does not show up, look out below!” The gold bug added:
There is really no need for a bitcoin ETF, as you can buy and store bitcoin yourself for free. What’s the point of owning it in an ETF anyway?
Following a 7% plunge in bitcoin’s price fueled by a rumor that the SEC will continue to reject spot bitcoin ETF applications this month, Schiff doubled down with another post on X Wednesday. “As I warned, it’s likely that the bitcoin ETF will not be a ‘buy the rumor, sell the news’ event, but a ‘buy the rumor, sell the rumor of the news’ event. Those who wait for the actual news to sell their bitcoin may discover that there are very few speculators left to buy!” he cautioned.
Schiff does not expect institutional investors to flock to spot bitcoin ETFs. Sharing his predictions on Dec. 20, the economist wrote:
The introduction of a spot bitcoin ETF will prove to be a non event. It will be historically insignificant. There will be minimal investor demand and the speculators who bought on the news will likely sell on the fact.
Meanwhile, many people believe spot bitcoin ETF approvals by the SEC will boost the price of bitcoin. Vaneck’s director of digital assets strategy said people tend to underestimate the long-term impact of spot bitcoin ETFs. Ark Invest CEO Cathie Wood expects a significant boost in the price of BTC, and Galaxy Digital CEO Mike Novogratz believes the price will climb considerably. Moreover, venture capitalist Tim Draper has doubled down on his $250,000 prediction for bitcoin this year.
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