Peter Schiff Says Bitcoin Lagged Gold and Stocks, Challenges Michael Saylor

Highlights:

• Peter Schiff said Bitcoin lagged gold, silver, and major U.S. stock indexes over five years.
• He challenged Michael Saylor to debate Bitcoin and accused supporters of cherry-picking favorable timelines.
• Saylor replied that Bitcoin remains the top-performing major asset when measured from August 2020.

Peter Schiff has again criticized Bitcoin and targeted Strategy executive chairman Michael Saylor in a new series of posts on X on Sunday. In those posts, he argued that Bitcoin has not delivered the kind of long-term returns that many of its supporters still promise.

In his view, Bitcoin no longer looks like the clear winner that many supporters often claim it is. Instead, he described Bitcoin as an asset that has fallen behind both precious metals and major U.S. stock indexes over the same period.

Schiff Highlights Bitcoin’s Weak Five-Year Performance Against Traditional Assets

To support his point, Schiff compared Bitcoin’s five-year performance with other major assets. He said Bitcoin rose only 12% during that period. By comparison, gold gained 163%, silver climbed 181%, the Nasdaq rose 57.4%, and the S&P 500 advanced 59.4%.

Based on those figures, Schiff questioned why investors should continue holding Bitcoin. He argued that if strong long-term returns are one of Bitcoin’s biggest selling points, its recent performance gives investors a reason to reconsider that claim.

Over the past five years, the price of Bitcoin is up by just 12%. Over the same time period, the NASDAQ is up 57.4%, the S&P 500 is up 59.4%, gold is up 163%, and silver is up 181%. If the appeal of Bitcoin is its superior long-term performance, why should anyone keep HODLing it?

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) April 5, 2026

Saylor Says Longer Timeframes Show BTC’s Strong Performance

Michael Saylor pushed back by saying Bitcoin should be judged over the right time periods. He argued that longer timeframes give a clearer view of its performance. To support his point, he shared a chart showing BTC at the top with a 36% annualized return since August 2020. 

Gold followed with 16%. QQQ, which tracks the Nasdaq-100, posted 15%, while SPY, an exchange-traded fund linked to the S&P 500, showed 14%. The chart also included other assets. VNQ, a real estate investment trust ETF, returned 5%. Meanwhile, BND, a total bond market ETF, showed a negative 1% return.

“Timeframes matter. Since Aug 2020, Bitcoin has been the top-performing major asset, and it’s not even close. Zoom out further, and the gap only widens,” he challenged.

As of this writing, Strategy held 762,099 Bitcoin. That made it the largest corporate holder of the asset. The company bought its Bitcoin at an average price of about $75,699 per coin. Since the current market price is lower, its total position is still under water.

Schiff Calls Bitcoin a “Shitcoin”

In a follow-up post, Schiff said he was using a full five-year period to compare returns. He argued that some Bitcoin supporters pick a later starting point to make Bitcoin look stronger. According to Schiff, that does not show the full picture. In the same post, he also called Bitcoin a “shitcoin.” This showed that his long-running public fight with Saylor is still active.

“I said five years ago, not five years and eight months ago. Stop cherry-picking low points to make your shitcoin look better. Now that I’ve got your attention, care to actually debate Bitcoin?” he said.

Schiff used a five-year period starting near an earlier Bitcoin high. Saylor’s side used a later starting point based on Strategy’s Bitcoin plan. So the dispute is also about which time period gives a fair comparison.

Schiff’s five-year comparison starts around April 2021, when BTC was trading close to its then-peak of about $69,000. That starting point is important because it includes the deep crypto market drop in 2022 and the slower recovery that followed in 2024 through 2026. At the time of writing, Bitcoin was changing hands at $69,031.

Gold showed a very different trend over the same period. It climbed from around $1,780 per ounce in April 2021 to above $4,700. That jump means gold gained more than 160%, which supports the figures Schiff shared.

I said five years ago, not five years and eight months ago. Stop cherry-picking low points to make your shitcoin look better. Now that I've got your attention, care to actually debate Bitcoin? Who wants to moderate? I'm fine if it's another Bitcoiner. Two against one seems fair.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) April 5, 2026