Peter Schiff predicts a sharp drop in bitcoin

Cryptocurrency strategist and economist Peter Schiff is predicting a potential drop in the value of bitcoin BTC $96,177.96 Bitcoin -1.74% Market capitalization $1.9 trillion VOL. 24 hours $2.96 billion after the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) approved several spot bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) as a harbinger of stricter regulation of cryptocurrencies.

In his profile on the X platform, Schiff wrote: «Since Gary Gensler has been backed into a corner by the approval of spot #BitcoinETFs, I think he will soon introduce new onerous cryptocurrency regulations that will significantly increase the cost of bitcoin transactions, further undermining its 'use', leading to a sharp drop in price.»

This is not the first time the economist has expressed doubts about the value of the flagship crypto asset. Last week, Schiff stated: «In addition to all the pre-existing ways to play bitcoin, there are now eleven more ways that speculators can place their bets. The problem for the bulls is what to bet on now? It’s a shame that bitcoin itself doesn’t have real-world utility like gold,» he tweeted.

In his turn, Eric Balchunas, a senior analyst at Bloomberg ETFs, who discusses the potential of the bitcoin ETF debut, said: «Let me explain how crazy the $ 10 billion volume in the first 3 days is. In 2023, 500 ETFs were launched. Today, they have reached a cumulative volume of $ 450 million. The best of them is $ 45 million. And many of them took months to get started. $IBIT alone shows more activity than the entire '23rd freshman class'.»

In a wave of approvals, the SEC has authorized spot ETFs from key financial players, including Grayscale’s Bitcoin Trust and products from companies such as Bitwise, Hashdex, iShares, Valkyrie, ARK 21Shares, Invesco Galaxy, VanEck, WisdomTree, Fidelity Wise Origin, and Franklin.