Schiff Sees Bitcoin Falling to $16,500 as Stablecoins Shrink

Peter Schiff warned that Bitcoin could fall to $16,500 if it drops below the $50,000 support level. He also said a deeper decline could threaten Strategy, the largest corporate holder of Bitcoin.

In a post on X, Schiff wrote that Bitcoin’s decline could accelerate after it loses the $50,000 threshold. He expects the cryptocurrency to revisit its 2022 bear-market low before the end of 2026.

“The Bitcoin collapse is gathering steam. I expect the momentum to pick up once Bitcoin breaks $50K,” Schiff wrote. He added, “If so, it’s curtains for MicroStrategy,” referring to Strategy’s former name.

Bitcoin traded at about $67,254 on Nov. 14, down 2.94% over 24 hours and about 12% over the previous week. Its intraday low was $66,200. A fall to $50,000 would extend the decline, while a drop below $16,500 would return Bitcoin to levels last recorded during the 2022 bear market.

Schiff’s forecast drew criticism from cryptocurrency commentators, who questioned his history of bearish Bitcoin predictions and his recent recommendations to buy gold. Schiff has argued that Bitcoin’s decline of about 22% over seven weeks has not yet produced the panic selling often associated with a market bottom.

He has rejected comparisons between Bitcoin and gold. Schiff attributed gold’s decline to investors’ views on interest rates and inflation, while describing Bitcoin’s losses as the unwinding of a speculative bubble.

Analyst Crypto Rover estimated that nearly $9 billion left the stablecoin market during the latest downturn. Stablecoins are digital tokens designed to maintain a stable value, usually by tracking the U.S. dollar. They are widely used to transfer funds within cryptocurrency markets.

Crypto Rover’s data showed that stablecoin market capitalization fell 1.92% during Bitcoin’s 38.42% decline in January. It dropped 3.70% during Bitcoin’s 30.11% decline in May and 4.86% during a 23.92% decline in October.

Data from CryptoQuant author Amr Taha showed that Binance’s ERC-20 stablecoin reserves fell to $31.4 billion on Nov. 12, the lowest level since December 2024. A Nov. 13 breakdown put the reserves at $29.5 billion in Tether’s USDT and $1.92 billion in USD Coin.

Binance held about 63.1% of the $49.8 billion in stablecoin reserves tracked across major centralized exchanges. Other platforms held the remaining $18.4 billion. The decline in Bitcoin’s price below $70,000 occurred during the same period as falls in stablecoin capitalization and exchange reserves.

Reviewed and fact-checked by Alex Panasenko on November 14.