Peter Schiff argues that the vision of an American Bitcoin superpower will weaken the economy.

A vocal bitcoin critic, Peter Schiff, has argued that embracing bitcoin as a nation would weaken the US economy.

Schiff's comments, which were shared on the social media platform X on Monday, were aimed at Trump's vision of making the US a global leader in cryptocurrency.

Economic risks

In the post, Schiff suggested that because of Trump's support for crypto, Wall Street is significantly misallocating capital to Bitcoin and related ventures.

“Becoming a Bitcoin superpower will make America weak,” the economist argued, citing Trump's “Make America Great Again” slogan.

The president-elect has made no secret of his support for crypto, particularly Bitcoin, and his election victory has boosted the asset's value to new all-time highs. Expecting clearer regulations and an end to the Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) punitive stance on crypto has encouraged more institutional players to enter the sector.

Microstrategy led this Bitcoin buying spree, collecting over 386,000 coins valued at $35 billion.

However, Schiff believes that moving this source of funds to Bitcoin is “value-destroying.” He recently predicted a “bloodbath” for MicroStrategy stock, calling it the most overvalued asset in the MSCI World Index.

Furthermore, the co-founder of Echelon Wealth pointed out that Bitcoin is not a store of value as many of its proponents claim, but instead is rising in value as fear of missing out (FOMO) drives more people to buy.

Community violence

Schiff's comments were met with backlash from the crypto community. One user asked for his understanding of the currency premium concept, while another criticized BTC for the past 15 years and urged him to “move on”.

Elsewhere, digital asset influencer Neil Jacobs called the comment one of the “stupidest posts ever.” Other users accused Schiff of manipulating or seeking involvement, with some telling him to embrace Bitcoin's growth rather than oppose it.

The 61-year-old's latest comments follow earlier warnings about the economic risks of the US establishing a strategic bitcoin reserve. It has previously been argued that the government's initial purchase would send the cryptocurrency's value to unprecedented levels, creating huge wealth for early adopters.

According to him, this increase could prompt investors to sell their assets, leaving the government with reduced bitcoin reserves.

Schiff warned that to prevent this outcome, the government could print more money to sustain crypto purchases. He believes this could lead to higher inflation and a weaker dollar.

The coin's inconsistent performance compared to gold has raised doubts that BTC reserves will ever materialize.