Bitcoiners Are Not Looking for a Store of Value, Gold Bug Peter Schiff Says

A known gold enthusiast, financial commentator Peter Schiff said Bitcoin (BTC) holders are not actually looking to the asset as a storage of wealth — one of the most commonly touted use cases surrounding the coin. 

"I buy gold as a way to store my wealth, as a conservative place to keep liquidity, as opposed to keeping it in dollars or some other fiat currency," Schiff told interviewer Peter McCormack, host of the What Bitcoin Did podcast, during a July 17 episode. "I do think that when people are buying Bitcoin, they're really not looking for that," Schiff added. 

Bitcoin buyers want gains

The crypto and blockchain industry commonly refers to Bitcoin as a store of value or place to park wealth. The asset has also received a number of comparisons against gold. According to Shiff, however, BTC owners actually want profit, not steady wealth protection against inflation. 

Schiff explained:

"People who are buying Bitcoin are not looking for stability. They're not looking to maintain their purchasing power. Pretty much everybody that I talk to that's into Bitcoin, thinks it's going to go up to $50,000, $100,000, $1,000,000."

Bitcoin has risen to astronomical heights since its launch

Valued at less than a penny shortly after its 2009 launch, Bitcoin rocketed up to almost $20,000 per BTC at its all-time high in 2017, tallying unheard of profits for early investors. Bitcoin has held as a profitable investment for 89% of its lifetime, as of late 2019 Cointelegraph reporting. Given its astronomical price climb through the years, do asset holders subconsciously just want profits?

"They think they're going to get rich on Bitcoin," Schiff said following up his comment on people's price expectations for the asset. "I don't tell anybody they're going to get rich on gold, they're just not going to go broke with gold," Schiff explained. "They're going to preserve their wealth that other people are going to lose."

Posing a contrary view, Bill Barhydt, CEO of financial investing and wallet platform Abra, said he sees the store of value narrative as Bitcoin's top use case at present.