Peter Schiff heard about BTC years ago, and upon doing some research, he knew that the electronic payment model its believers touted was just a pipe dream. BTC has yet to succeed as electronic cash, and it’s only a matter of time before the ultimate crash wipes it out, he tells CoinGeek Backstage.

Schiff, a renowned gold bug and BTC critic, was at the London Blockchain Conference, where he delivered a keynote speech on the potential of blockchain-powered gold-backed tokens. CoinGeek Backstage reporter Jon Southurst caught up with him to talk about BTC and why it has failed on its grand promises.

“When I looked at it [BTC] and decided not to get involved, my decision was correct based on the flawed concept. I didn’t think it could succeed as money, and I was right—it still hasn’t succeeded as money,” he said.

While he was right with his assessment of BTC’s inadequacy as a currency, he underestimated “its bubble potential.” Since then, Schiff has seen thousands of people invest in BTC and push its value to great heights, making billions in the process.

“I could have put a substantial amount of money into it and made a billion or more.”

Most of the investors who made fortunes from BTC’s rise didn’t believe in the digital asset—they just gambled that there would be greater fools who would buy it at a higher price, Schiff added.

The chief economist for Euro Pacific Asset Management says that BTC’s success is built on a shaky foundation that will give way soon. While BTC has gone through bear markets where it’s lost over 75% of its value, it has managed to find stability. However, a big crash is on the way that will wipe the token out.

“The peak that we saw in 2021 around $70,000…that was it. We’re just forming a massive top right now, and eventually, the bottom is going to drop out, and [BTC] is going to implode,” he noted.

Watch: Gold as a commodity

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