Binance founder Changpeng Zhao said Peter Schiff will eventually be right about Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), but only after Schiff changes his own prediction first.
What CZ Actually Said
Zhao on Monday posted on X in response to a compilation of Schiff’s bearish Bitcoin calls shared by Bitcoin historian Pete Rizzo: “He will be right one day… after he changes his mind.”
The jab references 13 years of Schiff predicting Bitcoin’s collapse, a track record that includes one clearly falsifiable call.
In November 2019, Schiff declared on X, “Keep dreaming. Bitcoin is never going to hit $100,000!”
Bitcoin crossed that threshold in December 2024, and Schiff responded by attributing the milestone to political influence rather than conceding the prediction was wrong.
What Schiff Has Actually Conceded
Schiff hasn’t stayed fully rigid on his original thesis.
In a March 2024 conversation with Raoul Pal, as Benzinga reported, Schiff admitted he wished he had bought Bitcoin back in 2010, though he questioned whether he would have held onto the position long enough to capture the gains.
He’s also softened his most extreme prediction. In a June 2026 interview with Benzinga following a debate with Anthony Pompliano, Schiff said Bitcoin hitting an actual price of zero was unlikely given how widely the token is now owned and traded.
He still maintained Bitcoin would eventually lose more than 99% of its market value, just not all the way to nothing.
Why Schiff Rejects Comparisons to Bitcoin’s Early Days
Schiff explained his reasoning to Benzinga on Oct.13, arguing that measuring Bitcoin’s performance from its earliest prices is “meaningless,” since even a collapse to $1,000 would still leave an enormous gain against 2010 valuations.
Instead, he prefers comparing Bitcoin’s performance against its roughly $69,000 November 2021 cycle peak, a benchmark that makes recent price action look far less impressive than measuring from Bitcoin’s origin.
At Bitcoin’s recent price near $82,500, that puts Bitcoin roughly 19.6% above the November 2021 peak Schiff uses as his reference point, a far more modest gain than the 23,000%-plus return investors would see measuring from Bitcoin’s price near $355 back in November 2013, when Schiff first compared the token to tulip mania on CNBC.
Schiff reiterated his skepticism again in July 2026, telling Benzinga he regretted never buying Bitcoin when he first learned about it, but said he still wouldn’t buy even at $20,000. “Not a chance,” he said, when asked directly.
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