For someone lacking interest in Bitcoin, Peter Schiff has a funny way of showing it. As the price leading digital assets is dropping today, the gold bug has once again commented that such moves are evidence of a “pump and dump” narrative in the market.
Schiff seems to think that there is only room for one hard form of money on the planet. Despite its similarities to gold in terms of monetary policy, the billionaire investor remains unimpressed by Bitcoin.
Bitcoin Price Plummets, Schiff Cries “Pump and Dump”
In the last couple of hours, Bitcoin and other digital assets shed billions of dollars off their total market capitalisation. Early responses to the sudden crash have pointed to rumours of Binance offices in Shanghai being raided as a possible cause of the sudden selling pressure.
@binance in Shanghai was shut down by a police raid @cz_binance?! pic.twitter.com/mytXuc9vmj
— Julien Cotel (@JulienCotel) November 21, 2019
However, others have stated that Binance’s “Shanghai Offices” are less formal than reports make out. One Twitter user claiming to have visited the working space in question tweeted:
The whole piece looks like bullshit. I have been to SO CALLED Binance Shanghai offices. Just a place where some staff tend to gather together and most people actually work from home.
— Block-Unicorn (@aries_kkk) November 21, 2019
Similarly, Binance’s Chief Financial Officer, Wei Zhou, claims that the rumour is unfounded since there are no Binance offices in Shanghai. However, China is currently known to be clamping down on cryptocurrency firms and interested individuals. Those involved in the industry in some capacity have been ordered to report their activities to the nation’s central bank. It is entirely possible that the original report may have wrongly referred to a raid being against Binance offices and instead some other crypto firm or co-working space could have been closed down instead. With accurate news out of China usually more of a trickle than torrent, investors have been left guessing as to what has really gone on.
Please squash this rumor. No raid cuz no office! @lawmaster https://t.co/a0jsknrVxK
— Wei (@weizhouBinance) November 21, 2019
Offering an entirely different reasoning for the current dip in prices is gold bug and prominent Bitcoin naysayer Peter Schiff. Like clockwork, he tweeted his own theory immediately following the largest of the recent downside moves just hours ago.
The entire cryptocurrency market cap just dumped by billions of dollars.
Schiff claims in his most recent Twitter spiel against Bitcoin that the market is showing clear signs of manipulation. For him, large holders of Bitcoin are pumping up the price so that “momentum buyers” can absorb the selling pressure the same large holders create when they offload their Bitcoin. The big players hope to create a market more capable of supporting such selling. Schiff encourages Bitcoin investors to “wake up”, insisting that they are “being played”.
Bitcoin spiked by 40% in less than 24 hours. Then in the ensuing 4 weeks Bitcoin steadily lost 100% of those gains. This is a classic pump and dump. Run the price up to sucker in momentum buyers. Then sell into that demand. When will #Bitcoin buyers wake up? You’re being played.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) November 21, 2019
Interestingly, the 40 percent Bitcoin spike that Schiff refers to in his original post coincided with the news that the Chinese government will support blockchain development going forward. Almost a month ago now, the price has slowly dwindled since. The trend has accelerated into a crash to a low below $7,450 on Bitstamp today.
The sudden additional drop in digital asset prices after bleeding for much of the last month could very well have been the result of the manipulation of which Schiff tweets. Given the timing of the drop and the China rumours beginning to circulate, either fear of a clampdown or the beginnings of an actual clampdown on cryptocurrency may also be causing the sudden selling pressure. Unfortunately, NewsBTC is unable to source more information on the matter at present but will endeavour to bring further updates if and when they occur.
Related Reading: Bitcoin Price Jumped 42% Last Time It Hit This Level, and BTC Has Tapped It Again
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