Bitcoin’s price has been on a rollercoaster ride today, jumping between $67,000 and $65,000, with crypto advocates like Michael Saylor saying it has “never been this bullish,” while Peter Schiff, a longtime critic of the digital asset, reiterated his position in a new X post.
What makes Schiff’s new comments about Bitcoin so surprising is his admission that he “stupidly” underestimated the amount of money that would buy Bitcoin. He sarcastically wishes he was “smart” enough to realize how big greed and fear of missing out (FOMO) can be.
Peter Schiff’s $126,000 Miscalculation and ‘Fool’s Money’ Victory
It is important to note that the former banker did not abandon the view that Bitcoin lacks intrinsic value. On the contrary, he admitted that he misjudged the scale of his speculative participation and caused the price of the cryptocurrency to rise from a low of $1 when he first learned about BTC to a high of $126,198.
Schiff said it was the early buyers who sparked a bull market that forced even skeptics to reconsider, creating a feedback loop fueled by rising prices and investor sentiment.
I wish I had been smart enough to realize how many people were stupid enough to buy Bitcoin when I first learned about it. So many people were stupid enough that the price went up so high that other people who were just too smart also felt stupid and bought it. Then the greed and FOMO set in.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) February 19, 2026
If you were to argue with Schiff, he would say that despite repeated corrections of more than 70%, the asset now resides in U.S. physical exchange-traded funds, deep derivatives markets (such as CME), and a growing institutional custodial infrastructure, elements that were not present in the early days when experts first criticized Bitcoin.
Still, after plummeting earlier this month, Bitcoin remains flat between $71,000 and $60,000 as of mid-February 2026. Considering the current price trend, it is clear that the current criticism and “bearish” rhetoric about Bitcoin is more “fashionable” than the recent price rally, and so Schiff agrees.
