Bitcoin Loses 30% Value Against Gold Since 2021 Peak, Says Schiff

Prominent gold advocate and long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has declared that Bitcoin is in a “major bear market.” He pointed to its performance against gold since its November 2021 peak, highlighting that despite several developments that should have been positive for Bitcoin’s price, the cryptocurrency has lost significant value when measured against gold.

Schiff stated that since its peak price in November 2021, Bitcoin has lost 30% of its value priced in gold. This decline occurred despite the approval of several exchange-traded funds (ETFs), massive leveraged buying by MicroStrategy, the election of the first Bitcoin president, and the creation of a Bitcoin Strategic Reserve. Schiff’s comments come as MicroStrategy’s recent Bitcoin acquisitions have fallen into the red. The company’s purchases made on March 31, March 24, February 24, and February 10, 2025, are all currently showing losses ranging from 2.2% to 15.44%. Only their March 17 purchase of 130 BTC shows a modest 0.43% gain.

Schiff’s critique centers on challenging the popular “digital gold” narrative that has been used to promote Bitcoin as a store of value similar to physical gold. According to Schiff, Bitcoin’s underperformance against gold over the past several years contradicts this positioning. In an earlier tweet, Schiff directly attacked this comparison, stating that Bitcoin is crashing harder than stocks, yet people still call it ‘digital gold.’ He further characterized Bitcoin as behaving like a high-risk asset, just like penny stocks, rather than a stable store of value.

The gold advocate’s argument is strengthened by data showing MicroStrategy’s recent Bitcoin purchases are now underwater. Their largest recent acquisition of 22,048 BTC at an average price of $86,969 on March 31, 2025, has lost over $97 million in value, representing a 5.08% decline. Similarly, their February 24 purchase of 20,356 BTC at $97,514 is down 15.44%, resulting in a loss exceeding $307 million. Schiff questions the rationale behind including such a volatile asset in strategic reserves, stating that this narrative “is crumbling fast” as Bitcoin fails to demonstrate the stability expected from a gold-like asset.

This was not the first time Peter Schiff criticized MicroStrategy. Earlier in March, Schiff criticized MicroStrategy’s Bitcoin strategy amidst the Bitcoin crash. MicroStrategy, led by Bitcoin advocate Michael Saylor, has continued its aggressive Bitcoin accumulation strategy throughout 2025. However, recent purchases are now showing negative returns. According to the figures, MicroStrategy’s largest recent Bitcoin purchase occurred on March 31, 2025, when the company acquired 22,048 BTC at an average price of $86,969 per coin. This was a total investment of $1.92 billion. At current prices, this investment has declined in value by $97,469,326.40, or 5.08%. The company’s February purchases have fared even worse. The February 24 acquisition of 20,356 BTC at $97,514 per coin has lost 15.44% of its value, translating to a paper loss of $307,333,345.80. Similarly, the February 10 purchase of 7,633 BTC at $97,255 is down 15.01%, or $111,441,335.65. These losses come despite the various positive developments for Bitcoin that Schiff referenced. This includes ETF approvals and institutional adoption.

Peter Schiff has expanded his criticism beyond Bitcoin’s price performance to question its fundamental role as an investment asset. In another tweet, he posed a series of rhetorical questions about Bitcoin’s utility and classification. Schiff then systematically ruled out several potential classifications for Bitcoin. “It’s not a stock as it will never have earnings or pay a dividend,” he stated. He distinguished it from traditional equity investments that provide ownership in productive companies. More pointedly, he rejected the store of value thesis that Bitcoin proponents often advance: “It’s clearly not a risk-off asset, a store of value, or digital gold.”