Remember Peter Schiff, the well-known Bitcoin skeptic and chief economist? Well, he’s been tweeting again, this time sharing his concerns about the current state of the financial markets and what that might mean for Bitcoin.

According to Schiff, with the NASDAQ already down 12%, the possibility of a serious bear market could send Bitcoin tumbling. He’s even predicting a direct link: for every 12% drop in the NASDAQ, Schiff claims Bitcoin could plummet by a massive 24%! If this pattern holds, he forecasts that a 20% NASDAQ decline could see Bitcoin crashing to around $65,000.

Right now, Bitcoin is trading around $83,000, already down 23.5% from its all-time high. But Schiff hints that a dip to $65K might be just the tip of the iceberg compared to his real expectations. He’s referred back to past bear markets to warn of an even steeper price crash for Bitcoin.

Specifically, he points to historical events like the Dot-com bubble bursting, the 2008 Global Financial Crisis (GFC), and the COVID crash of 2020. During these major downturns, the NASDAQ experienced dramatic falls of up to 80%, 55%, and 30%, respectively.

Schiff suggests that if this bear market follows a similar path, Bitcoin could be in deep trouble. In his worst-case scenario, he’s predicting Bitcoin could crash all the way down to $20,000 or even lower.

Gold: Schiff’s Safe Haven as NASDAQ Declines

However, it’s not all negative for Schiff. Naturally, while he’s bearish on Bitcoin, he’s much more optimistic about gold. He highlights the typical inverse relationship between the NASDAQ and gold. Schiff points out that gold prices have actually risen by 13% since the NASDAQ’s peak back in December 2023.

This trend suggests to Schiff that gold may continue its upward climb as the NASDAQ continues to struggle. If the NASDAQ were to experience a significant 40% drop, Schiff boldly predicts that gold could surge to over $3,800 per ounce.

Adding to his bullish outlook on gold, Schiff speculates that if a stock market bear market coincides with a weakening US dollar in the foreign exchange market, gold could see an even more substantial rally.

In Schiff’s view, this would stand in stark contrast to Bitcoin’s anticipated downfall, further solidifying his belief that gold will continue to be the more reliable store of value during times of market turmoil.

Bitcoin’s ‘Store of Value’ Narrative at Risk, According to Schiff

Schiff goes on to argue that even if Bitcoin were to somehow stabilize around $20,000 while gold reached $3,800, Bitcoin would still be down by a massive 85% compared to gold. He believes this significant difference would seriously damage Bitcoin’s claim to be a store of value, especially when compared to gold.

In his opinion, this kind of performance would lead governments and large institutional investors to completely lose faith in Bitcoin and abandon it.

Schiff is predicting that the U.S. government, along with other nations, would no longer see any reason to keep Bitcoin in their strategic reserves.

Furthermore, he suggests that exchange-traded fund (ETF) investors might start selling off their Bitcoin holdings, further accelerating the market decline. Schiff projects that this selling pressure could become so intense that companies like MicroStrategy (MSTR), which hold huge amounts of Bitcoin, could even face bankruptcy if they can’t sell enough of their reserves.

While Bitcoin certainly continues to experience volatility, Schiff’s pessimistic outlook is consistent with his long-held skepticism towards BTC. However, it’s always worth remembering that the crypto market has often defied these kinds of downbeat predictions in the past.