Foreign media report that Peter Schiff, a long-term Bitcoin bear, has once again turned his focus to the relationship between AI and BTC. On August 23, he posted that the market is attempting to incorporate Bitcoin into the AI investment narrative, but he believes the two are not mutually reinforcing—AI may instead impose new pressure on Bitcoin.
Schiff says AI will divert funds
According to him, AI has become one of the strongest investment themes in today’s financial markets, and Bitcoin supporters hope to leverage this momentum to position BTC as part of AI-related trading. Schiff believes the reality is more like both are competing for the same pool of high-risk capital.
He also noted that AI and Bitcoin compete for real-world resources, including electricity supply and data center infrastructure. As demand for AI training and inference grows, competition for these resources may intensify further.
Security risks are the core argument.
Schiff’s most critical point this time is not about funding, but about security. He stated that as AI systems become more capable, they may uncover vulnerabilities previously undetected by humans—vulnerabilities that could exist in Bitcoin’s code, cryptographic mechanisms, wallets, or network structure.
Based on this, he believes that Bitcoin’s security, along with the software and cryptographic mechanisms it relies on, may face new scrutiny in the future. However, the report also notes that Schiff has not provided evidence that AI has currently discovered such vulnerabilities in Bitcoin.
Maintains its bearish stance on Bitcoin
On the same day, Schiff also stated, “AI is not a scam, but Bitcoin is a scam,” continuing his long-standing negative stance on Bitcoin. In recent times, he has repeatedly advised investors to reduce or sell their Bitcoin holdings and shift toward gold and silver.
In response to discussions about Bitcoin’s historical price gains, Schiff also stated that while holding Bitcoin in the past could have generated substantial profits, not holding Bitcoin over the last five years or so has yielded better results. He believes long-term holders missed the opportunity to realize gains and shift toward precious metals.
A few days ago, he publicly denied that Bitcoin has inflation-hedging properties, stating that if markets bet on rising inflation expectations and a looser monetary environment, precious metals would benefit more than Bitcoin. Previously, after Bitcoin surged past $72,000, he described this rally as a "false breakout."