Changpeng Zhao (CZ) of Binance recently took a sarcastic jab at well-known gold bull Peter Schiff for his notorious track record of Bitcoin (BTC) bear market predictions.
“He will be right one day… after he changes his mind :)” Zhao wrote on X.
Zhao responded to a post from Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo that compiled Schiff’s numerous pessimistic predictions over the years.
The exchange brought Schiff’s long-running skepticism of the world’s number one cryptocurrency back into the spotlight. The skepticism can be traced back at least as far as 2011.
Schiff’s bear market predictions
Schiff has been very vocal in his criticism of Bitcoin dating back to 2011, when he dismissed the cryptocurrency as a fad.
In November 2013, when Bitcoin was trading around $350, Schiff drew a parallel between the cryptocurrency’s meteoric growth and the notorious Dutch tulip mania.
He said during an interview with CNBC that he believed the speculative run of Bitcoin would eventually collapse. Bitcoin experienced a massive correction at that point, but later recovered and set new all-time highs.
In December 2017, when Bitcoin was nearing $20K for the first time, Schiff reiterated his negative view of the cryptocurrency and called it the biggest speculative bubble he had ever seen.
Schiff also declared Bitcoin’s demise during the March 2020 market crash.
Schiff admitted in 2021 that his previous prediction that BTC would never reach $50K was wrong. BTC soared above $50K at the time.
However, he remained steadfast in his belief that Bitcoin would end up worthless.
“While possible for there to be a temporary rise to $100K, it’s inevitable there will be a permanent fall to zero,” Schiff wrote back in February 2021.
Bitcoin ultimately climbed above $100K in December 2024. This proved multiple of Schiff’s past price predictions wrong.
But the bearish forecasts from the economist did not stop there.
In April 2025, he predicted that the next financial crisis would be the end of Bitcoin.
“Bitcoin was created as a result of the financial crisis in 2008. But the irony of it is that the financial crisis in 2025 will be the death of Bitcoin,” Schiff wrote.
Did Schiff change his tune?
Interestingly, Schiff seemingly changed his mind on one of his most controversial predictions earlier this year.
Schiff, in a debate with Bitcoin bull Anthony Pompliano in June 2026, admitted that the chances of Bitcoin falling to zero were probably slim.
“It’s not going to go to zero. Maybe,” he said when prompted to bet on Bitcoin’s survival.
However, he later explained that he still believed Bitcoin would see a 99%+ drop in market capitalization, but that even if Bitcoin survives to trade at a positive value, most people would lose most of their investment as a result of such a crash.
