Peter Schiff Warns Bitcoin Price Could Fall Below $16.5K

Highlights:

• Peter Schiff warns Bitcoin could fall below $16,500 if it breaks below $50,000.
• Strategy holds 850,364 BTC bought for $64.16 billion, leaving roughly $7.1 billion in paper losses.
• Bitcoin remains under pressure after losing $70,000, while ETF withdrawals and heavy liquidations continue to hurt traders.

Gold advocate and longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has warned that Bitcoin (BTC) could fall below $16,500 before the end of 2026. He expects selling to increase if the cryptocurrency breaks $50,000. His warning comes after Bitcoin dropped below $70,000 and US spot Bitcoin ETFs recorded another week of withdrawals. The decline has also left Michael Saylor’s Strategy with billions of dollars in unrealized losses. Schiff believes a further crash could put the company in serious trouble.

In a November 14 post on X, Schiff said Bitcoin’s decline was gaining momentum. He warned that the price could fall much faster if it breaks $50,000.

The Bitcoin collapse is gathering steam. I expect the momentum to pick up once Bitcoin breaks $50K. In fact, once it does, it could be a quick trip to the 2022 low below $16.5K. I wouldn't be surprised to see a retest of that level before year-end. If so, it's curtains for $MSTR.

— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) November 14, 2026

Peter Schiff Warns Bitcoin Price Could Return to 2022 Lows

Schiff believes Bitcoin price could revisit its 2022 low of less than $16,500 before the end of this year. He wrote that a break below $50,000 could lead to a rapid decline toward that level. The economist also warned that such a drop would have serious consequences for Strategy, which holds a large amount of Bitcoin. “If so, it’s curtains for $MSTR,” Schiff wrote.

However, Schiff did not provide a detailed price model or explain why Bitcoin would fall that far. His forecast remains a prediction, and Bitcoin has not reached the $50,000 level. Schiff has criticized Bitcoin for years. He continues to favor gold and believes the cryptocurrency has little value beyond investor speculation.

Strategy Faces Over $7 Billion in Bitcoin Paper Losses

Bitcoin’s latest decline has already pushed Strategy’s holdings below their average purchase price. According to the company’s November 9 SEC filing, Strategy held 850,364 BTC as of November 8. It spent approximately $64.16 billion on those purchases, paying an average of $75,456 per Bitcoin. The company also bought another 1,036 BTC for $81.9 million between November 2 and November 8. These purchases are included in its reported holdings.

With Bitcoin trading near $67,100 on November 14, Strategy’s holdings were worth approximately $57 billion. That leaves the company with about $7.1 billion in unrealized losses compared with its purchase cost.

If Bitcoin price falls to $50,000, the value of those holdings would drop to roughly $42.52 billion, assuming Strategy does not change its Bitcoin holdings. However, these are paper losses, not confirmed losses from selling Bitcoin. Strategy’s filing also showed a $4.77 billion cash reserve intended to help cover preferred stock dividends and interest payments. Schiff’s warning does not mean the company is currently insolvent.

Bitcoin ETF Outflows Add to Recent Selling

Bitcoin faced heavy selling this week. Its price fell below $70,000 on November 13 and remained under pressure on November 14. According to Farside Investors, US spot Bitcoin ETFs lost approximately $1.07 billion between November 9 and November 13. Total outflows for November reached about $2.35 billion as of November 14.

Traders have also faced repeated liquidations. A November 13 Bloomberg report found that Bitcoin liquidations exceeded $500 million on 13 separate days over the past year. Three of those days saw losses above $1 billion. The figures show how much money traders have lost during recent price swings.

Schiff Says Bitcoin and Gold Are Falling for Different Reasons

In another post on November 13, Schiff criticized CNBC for discussing falling Bitcoin and gold prices together. He argued that the two assets were declining for different reasons. According to Schiff, gold traders have misunderstood the outlook for inflation and interest rates. He believes Bitcoin’s decline reflects the loss of investor confidence in a speculative market. He described Bitcoin’s sell-off as “air coming out of a bubble.”

At the time of writing, the Bitcoin price was around $67,165, down 2.89% over the past 24 hours, according to CoinMarketCap. The cryptocurrency was also down more than 11% over seven days.