Influential economist Peter Schiff expressed skepticism about the surge in Bitcoin’s BTC/USD value, attributing it to misplaced expectations of a potential Donald Trump administration’s support for the cryptocurrency.

What Happened: Schiff shared his thoughts on Bitcoin’s latest rally on his YouTube channel. He noted that the price increase was part of the “Trump trade,” as many in the cryptocurrency community believe that a Trump victory would be bullish for Bitcoin.

“It’s not going to happen,” Schiff dismissed the narrative. “He’s [Trump] made a lot of promises and I’ve gone over some of those promises on the podcast. But one of the promises he did not make was to buy any Bitcoin.”

Schiff reminded his viewers that though the GOP presidential nominee talked about setting up a Bitcoin reserve, he never mentioned funding the reserve by buying Bitcoin. Rather, Trump simply committed not to sell off the Bitcoin that the government already owns.

In another X post, Schiff called the so-called Trump-inspired Bitcoin pump “meaningless.”

The Trump campaign team didn’t immediately return Benzinga’s request to confirm Schiff’s assertion.

See Also: Italy Eyes Drastic Tax Hike On Bitcoin Profits: 42% Looming In 2025, Shocking Country’s Crypto Investors

Why It Matters: Schiff’s comments followed his previous remarks where he suggested that Trump’s endorsement of Bitcoin was a strategic move to secure votes and contributions from the cryptocurrency community, not a genuine commitment to make it a reserve asset.

He also questioned Trump’s strategy of holding onto Bitcoin to start a strategic U.S. reserve, arguing that if Trump truly intended to implement this strategy, he would have kept it under wraps until he was back in office.

Digital asset trading firm QCP Capital attributed Bitcoin’s rise to higher odds of a Trump win on betting markets, adding that his cryptocurrency policies are much friendlier and more supportive than those of Kamala Harris.

Price Action: At the time of writing, Bitcoin was exchanging hands at $67,447.94, up 0.48% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

Photo courtesy: Gage Skidmore on Flickr

Read Next:

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of Benzinga Neuro and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.