Gold proponent Peter Schiff has once again taken a dig at spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and the performance of these products. The well-known Bitcoin critic claims that Bitcoin is a terrible investment due to its innate volatility and lack of intrinsic value as compared to more traditional assets such as gold.
Schiff Lambasts BTC ETFs As Hype-Driven Flops
Peter Schiff has suggested that the recent performance of spot Bitcoin exchange-traded funds indicates that the hype around these investment vehicles is unreasonable. Schiff argues that the hype around the products is unwarranted as they have underperformed their counterpart spot gold exchange-traded funds.
In his post, the long-time Bitcoin skeptic observed the huge difference in returns between BTC and gold ETFs. While the first ones have registered gains of just around 17% since they debuted in January, the ETFs on the precious metal are up over 24% despite considerable outflows. In Schiff’s view, this is an indication that spot BTC investors are “betting on the wrong horse.”
Since they first launched in January of this year, despite massive inflows, the new #Bitcoin ETFs are up less than 17%. In contrast, $GLD, the largest #gold ETF, despite massive outflows, is up over 24%. It’s clear that despite all the hype, ETF investors bet on the wrong horse.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) September 5, 2024
The popular American stockbroker’s latest remarks come at a depressing time for the crypto market as the price of Bitcoin languishes. Analysts are eyeing a potential correction below the $50,000 psychological mark despite expectations of interest rate cuts in the United States, the world’s largest economy.
The Bitcoin price tumbled to lows of $52,690 on Friday before rebounding to trade at its current price of $54,360, up a meager 1.2% on the day, per data from CoinGecko — reflecting wider market jitters and waning risk appetite among investors.
Bitcoin ETFs Post Eight Consecutive Days Of Negative Outflows
The Bitcoin price has been historically weak this month. According to CoinGlass data, Bitcoin has dipped in September at least eight times since 2013. The apex crypto started this month with a nearly eight percent decline, surpassing an average fall of 5% in the last 10 years.
Bitcoin’s lackluster action comes against a backdrop of substantial withdrawals from spot ETFs. The U.S. spot Bitcoin ETFs logged nearly $170 million worth of outflows on Friday, marking the eighth consecutive day of withdrawals. These outflows brought the total cumulative value of the nearly a dozen funds to $48 billion.
Nevertheless, the CEO of the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, Larry Fink, coming out and declaring he likes Bitcoin now further legitimizes the OG crypto in the eyes of the Boomer financial advisors.
Notably, spot ETFs accounted for roughly 75% of new investments in BTC by Feb. 15 as it crossed the $50,000 zone. As such, ETFs could propel the Bitcoin price to new all-time highs once inflows turn positive.
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