Peter Schiff Says Bitcoin, Ethereum Crash Is 'Imminent'—But How Much Worse Can It Get?

Global
Source: Benzinga.comPublished: 10/18/2025, 03:28:02 EDT
Peter Schiff
Bitcoin
Ethereum
Cryptocurrency Market
Dollar Crisis
Peter Schiff Says Bitcoin, Ethereum Crash Is 'Imminent'—But How Much Worse Can It Get?

News Summary

Veteran gold advocate Peter Schiff warns that Bitcoin's downturn may be just beginning, predicting an imminent collapse across the broader crypto market. He notes that Bitcoin has lost 34% of its value relative to gold since its August all-time high, indicating weakening relative strength and suggesting the downtrend could deepen further. Schiff forecasts a severe downturn for both Bitcoin and Ethereum, believing the next phase of the bear market could trigger a cascade of failures throughout the crypto industry, leading to massive financial losses, bankruptcies, loan defaults, and widespread layoffs across crypto firms and service providers. He links his warning to the macro backdrop, stating that U.S. investors are bracing for a replay of the 2008 financial crisis as regional bank stocks plunge amid loan losses and economic weakness. However, Schiff argues that the real threat lies in a dollar crisis, fueled by monetary instability and eroding global trust in the greenback's value.

Background

Peter Schiff is a prominent economist, investment strategist, and gold advocate, who has long been a vocal critic of fiat currency systems and central bank policies. He is known for his staunch support of gold and his consistently bearish outlook on cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, which he views as lacking intrinsic value and ultimately doomed to fail. In 2025, the U.S. economy faces potential headwinds, with regional bank stocks declining amid loan losses and economic weakness, drawing comparisons to the 2008 financial crisis. Against this backdrop, the stability of the U.S. dollar is under scrutiny, as its global dominance could be threatened by monetary instability and eroding international trust.

In-Depth AI Insights

Given Peter Schiff's long-standing advocacy for gold and bearish stance on cryptocurrencies, to what extent should investors take his latest warnings seriously? - Schiff's warnings should not be dismissed merely as anti-crypto bias but rather viewed as a deep macroeconomic analysis reflecting his Austrian School economic views. His focus on intrinsic asset value and monetary stability can resonate particularly strongly in the current environment of high global debt and monetary policy uncertainty. - While often contrarian, his perspective offers a critical lens on the potential disconnect between the traditional financial system and emerging digital assets. In 2025, if the dollar crisis and regional banking woes indeed intensify, his arguments for 'safe havens' could gain renewed traction. Beyond a crypto market price collapse, what deeper implications could Schiff's predicted 'dollar crisis' have for the global financial system and the Trump administration's economic strategy? - A dollar crisis would signify a monumental shift in the global financial order, potentially undermining the dollar's reserve currency status with profound impacts on demand for U.S. Treasuries, global trade settlement, and cross-border capital flows. - For the Trump administration, while a significant dollar depreciation might superficially aid U.S. exports in the short term, it would exacerbate inflationary pressures, erode U.S. consumer purchasing power in the long run, and could prompt international questioning of U.S. economic leadership, thus complicating its 'America First' economic agenda. - This would also accelerate de-dollarization efforts by other nations, pushing them to explore alternative reserve assets and trade settlement mechanisms, thereby accelerating the multipolarization of the global geo-economic landscape. In a scenario where Schiff's predictions of both a crypto crash and a dollar crisis materialize, how should investors re-evaluate their asset allocation strategies, particularly exposure to gold and traditional risk assets? - Given the volatility of cryptocurrencies, investors would likely need to significantly reduce exposure to high-risk digital assets if the market enters the 'next phase of the bear market' and reallocate towards perceived more stable stores of value. - Gold, as a traditional safe-haven asset, would see its appeal dramatically increase in an environment of declining dollar trust and rising inflationary pressures. Investors would likely seek to increase gold holdings as a hedge against monetary instability and systemic risk. - Traditional risk assets like equities would perform highly dependent on the severity of the dollar crisis and economic weakness. If the crisis deepens, markets would face extreme uncertainty, with defensive sectors and companies with strong cash flows potentially outperforming, while growth and highly valued assets face downward pressure.