Peter Schiff Softens on Bitcoin: ‘I’ve Learned My Lesson’

In a rare moment, long-time Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff seems to have softened his stance on Bitcoin, acknowledging the twists and surprises that often come with the largest cryptocurrency.

“Never say never, especially when it comes to Bitcoin prices. I’ve learned that lesson,” Schiff said in a recent tweet, sparking reactions on X. The comment follows his earlier post expressing surprise at Bitcoin’s jump past $110,000: “Bitcoin is back above $110K, what’s up with that?”

Bitcoin’s price rose above $110,000 on Monday, for the first time in about two weeks, sparking a broader rally in digital assets. The top cryptocurrency by market capitalization was recently trading around $109,257, up 1.81% in the last 24 hours.

BTC has recovered nearly 5% in the last seven days, after reaching a low of $100,377 on June 5. At current pricing, Bitcoin is 2.38% below its all-time high of $111,814 reached in May.

Schiff, a vocal gold advocate and frequent BTC skeptic, has long questioned Bitcoin’s value and sustainability. However, as Bitcoin continues to defy expectations, even one of its staunchest critics appears to be softening his stance.

Bitcoin shorts liquidated

According to Glassnode, Bitcoin shorts were liquidated as the price soared from $105,000 to $107,000 within four hours on June 9, possibly due to a wave of short liquidations. Total short liquidations increased from $105,000 to $359,000 (24-hour SMA). Last week’s negative funding rates indicated increased short appetite, and those bets were squeezed.

Yesterday’s BTC futures short liquidations reached $5.74 million, with the 24-hour SMA sitting at $768,252.14. Meanwhile, the long-side premium for BTC has climbed significantly over the last 12 hours, reaching $270,480.

While derivatives indicate potential overheating (rising short liquidations, increasing long-side premium and rising open interest), the funding rate increase is only slight. The perpetual futures funding rate shows a slight uptick, with values ranging from 0.0003% to 0.023% across exchanges and a mean of 0.0016%.