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Key Takeaways
- Peter Schiff criticized CNBC for focusing on Bitcoin while overlooking substantial gains in gold and silver.
- Despite recent price weakness, Tom Lee argued that Bitcoin’s long-term fundamentals remain strong.
- Gold eased slightly after a strong rally, while Bitcoin continued to slide.
Gold advocate Peter Schiff accused CNBC and its flagship show Squawk Box of biased coverage toward Bitcoin on Tuesday, arguing that the financial network downplayed gains in precious metals while continuing to focus on digital assets despite a sharp downturn in prices.
The criticism came as Fundstrat’s Tom Lee appeared on the program, claiming that “the best days are ahead” for crypto and that Bitcoin could see a whopping 200% increase in adoption.
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Schiff Slams CNBC
Famed Bitcoin critic Schiff said in a post on X that CNBC ignored a rally in precious metals while devoting airtime to Bitcoin.
“Gold is up over $40 this morning and silver is up almost $2, yet @SquawkCNBC has not even mentioned either metal,” Schiff wrote.
He added: “However, they have talked extensively about Bitcoin, despite the fact that it’s slightly below where it was trading when U.S. markets closed on Friday.”
When asked why gold was receiving less attention despite outperforming, Schiff blamed both a lack of understanding and commercial incentives in financial media.
“Because the financial media doesn’t understand gold or Bitcoin,” he wrote in a follow-up post.
He added: “Plus, their advertisers are mainly crypto companies, who want their audience to buy Bitcoin instead of gold.”
CCN has contacted CNBC for comment.
Tom Lee Remains Bullish on Bitcoin
Appearing on Squawk Box the same day, Tom Lee, head of research at Fundstrat Global Advisors, acknowledged growing skepticism around Bitcoin but said the long-term outlook remained constructive.
“In terms of the skepticism now around the Bitcoin, I mean, it’s been a juggernaut,” Lee said, adding that investors were now trying to determine “what’s the appropriate price to put” on the asset.
Lee cited profit-taking, concerns around quantum computing, and what he described as a “huge deleveraging event on October 10” as factors weighing on prices.
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Still, he said the broader crypto narrative remained intact.
“The crypto fundamental story, it’s exiting on a really high note this year,” Lee said, pointing to more favorable U.S. legislation and Wall Street’s growing interest.
Lee also argued that Bitcoin’s long-term growth potential remained substantial, despite its limited current adoption.
“Well, in crypto, the best years are definitely because today, there’s only 4 million Bitcoin wallets with $10,000 in it,” Lee said.
“There’s 900 million IRA and brokerage accounts globally that have $10,000, so that’s a 200 times larger market.”
Forever Bullish, Forever Bearish
Lee has long been among Bitcoin’s most prominent bullish voices, while Schiff has been one of the asset’s fiercest critics.
Speaking on stage at Binance Blockchain Week, Lee reiterated that Bitcoin “looks positioned for a major move.”
“I think Bitcoin is going to get to $250,000 within a few months,” he said, calling Bitcoin and Ethereum “the two most important crypto platforms out there.”
Meanwhile, at the same conference, Schiff slammed the asset as “worthless” and a glorified “Ponzi scheme.”
“More people are gambling in Bitcoin today than were gambling in it a couple of years ago,” he said during a debate with Binance founder Changpeng “CZ” Zhao.
He later accused the former Binance CEO of running “a pretty big casino.”
“What makes Bitcoin worthless, as far as I’m concerned, is not the fact that I can’t touch it,” Schiff said.
“It’s that you can’t do anything with it. It doesn’t have utility beyond the fact that… I can transfer it to you, and you can transfer it to somebody else.”
He contrasted Bitcoin with tokenized gold:
“When I transfer tokenized gold to you, I’ve transferred gold. I’ve transferred the ownership of the gold.”
Gold Steadies After Rally
Gold prices eased slightly after climbing sharply on Tuesday, with some investors taking profits following recent gains.
Analysts said the downside may be limited after the U.S. Federal Reserve delivered its third interest-rate cut of the year last week and signaled the possibility of further easing in 2026.
Lower interest rates typically reduce the opportunity cost of holding non-yielding assets such as gold.
At the time of reporting, gold was holding around $4,283 after pulling back from highs near $4,345.
Bitcoin Slides Again
Bitcoin weakened further on Monday, with analysts attributing the decline to bearish technical patterns and broader market stress.
CCN analyst Valdrin Tahiri said the decline appears to be in its final phase, based on a five-wave downward structure following Bitcoin’s all-time high.
“The most likely target for its conclusion is between $70,100 and $72,000,” Tahiri said, adding that a strong rebound could follow once that level is reached.
At the time of reporting, Bitcoin was trading at around $86,278, down nearly 5% over the past seven days.
“With momentum weakening and wave structure indicating a lower trajectory, BTC appears vulnerable to another sharp decline before any meaningful recovery can begin,” Tahiri wrote in a report.
He added: “Until key resistance is reclaimed, the path of least resistance remains down.”
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