As Bitcoin (BTC) faces ongoing pressure despite recent gains, American economist and crypto sceptic Peter Schiff criticized Bitcoin supporters for attributing the cryptocurrency’s slump to Mt. Gox repayments.
In a social media post on July 6, Schiff argued that this explanation is overly simplistic and ignores deeper issues within the market.
Schiff suggested that if genuine institutional demand for Bitcoin existed, major buyers would have seized the opportunity to purchase Bitcoin from the Mt. Gox repayments off-market, thus preventing significant price impacts.
He contended that the selloff reveals a myth of robust institutional interest in Bitcoin.
While some market participants have also linked Bitcoin’s decline to the German government’s recent sale of the cryptocurrency, Schiff maintained that these factors alone should not be significant if institutions were genuinely committed to long-term investments in the crypto space.
Schiff, known for his long-term criticism of Bitcoin, has frequently highlighted what he sees as the cryptocurrency’s inherent risks and weaknesses.
He has argued that Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value and is prone to speculative bubbles and market manipulation.
The Mt. Gox exchange, which filed for bankruptcy in 2014 after losing 850,000 Bitcoins to hackers, has begun the process of repaying creditors.
This repayment process, valued at nearly $9 billion, has seen the exchange sell and distribute almost 50,000 BTC.
Despite the ongoing bearish momentum, Bitcoin has shown some short-term resilience, with its price rising by 2.5% to $57,083 in the last 24 hours.
However, Schiff warned that Bitcoin’s selloff might escalate, particularly if the price drops below $38,000, impacting Bitcoin ETF buyers.
