Gold bull Peter Schiff on Wednesday dismissed the notion that a spot Bitcoin BTC/USD ETF would drive adoption, claiming it simply facilitates speculative betting on price movements.
What Happened: In a tweet on X, Schiff posted that a spot Bitcoin ETF just "make[s] it easier for some speculators to place directional bets on price."
He criticized CNBC for overlooking the fact that “gambling doesn’t count as a use case for a currency.”
This statement comes as the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit on Wednesday cleared the path for Bitcoin exchange-traded funds (ETFs).
The court’s decision favored Grayscale in a legal battle against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which had previously denied their application to convert the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust GBTC into an ETF. Following the news, Bitcoin, Ethereum ETH/USD, and other altcoins experienced a surge in value.
When an X user suggested that gambling could be considered a use case for Bitcoin, Schiff responded, “If the only thing anyone wants Bitcoin for is to gamble on its price, then it has no actual use case, and its eventual price will be zero.”
Schiff added, “If you want such a hedge, you can buy gold. Bitcoin isn’t a hedge against anything.”
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Why It Matters: Earlier on Feb.17, Schiff said there are too many wild cards when it comes to Bitcoin, including the biggest wild card in the Grayscale Bitcoin Trust.
Schiff cautioned that a lot of companies could go bankrupt and have to sell assets. "There's so many potential bombs that could explode in crypto space. I wouldn't look at it as a safe haven, so much risks."
In May, Schiff, who has been a vocal opponent of Bitcoin, said that he would be releasing an Ordinal art collection. His collection will feature the original painting “Golden Triumph” and a series of prints and Ordinals that will be inscribed on the Bitcoin blockchain.
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