Bitcoin fell about 1.5% hours after Trump ignored Bitcoin, validating Schiff’s sell warning.
Gold advocate and Bitcoin (BTC) critic Peter Schiff predicted a drop in Bitcoin prices whether or not US President Donald Trump mentioned the cryptocurrency in his State of the Union address, according to statements posted on social media.
Schiff said Bitcoin’s recent rally stemmed from market expectations that Trump would mention the cryptocurrency in his speech. The gold advocate predicted that if the president did not mention Bitcoin in his speech, selling pressure would occur.
Schiff further said that even if Trump mentioned Bitcoin, a decline would still be expected, arguing that expectations were already baked into the market and the speech could trigger profit-taking, causing prices to fall. The analyst suggested that people close to Trump who bought Bitcoin in anticipation of the announcement might sell it after any mention.
President Trump delivered his State of the Union address without directly mentioning Bitcoin, causing short-term fluctuations in the cryptocurrency market, market data shows.
The speech covered topics such as tariff policy, tax cuts, responding to the Iranian nuclear problem and approving a defense budget. No mention of cryptocurrencies, including Bitcoin, was made during the speech.
Bitcoin had reached higher levels ahead of the speech, in line with market expectations based on Trump’s previous statements supporting the cryptocurrency. Following the speech, profit-taking led to selling and the price fell, although the drop was smaller than Schiff had expected, according to market observers.
In another social media post, Schiff described Bitcoin’s multi-year price increase as a bursting bubble and said the cryptocurrency’s price could drop significantly.