While the $1.5 billion bitcoin purchase from Tesla caught most crypto insiders and outsiders by surprise, Binance CEO Changpeng Zhao actually predicted the move over a month ago. Simultaneously, full-time BTC basher Peter Schiff was wrong (again) as he said that Elon Musk would not be “dumb enough” for such a move.
Arguably the biggest news in the crypto industry this week came from the Palo Alto, California-headquartered electric vehicle and clean energy giant, Tesla. Elon Musk’s company attempting to revolutionize the motoring industry had purchased $1.5 billion worth of bitcoin in January 2021.
This came after years of somewhat controversial engagement by the world’s richest man as he previously doubted BTC’s potential role in the monetary system. However, he recently changed his tune, regretted not purchasing any years ago, and said that the first-ever cryptocurrency “is a good thing.”
Being one of the most influential companies, Tesla’s entrance caused an immediate chain reaction as all eyes went on bitcoin. Although many were surprised with this massive news, Binance CEO CZ called it correctly back in late December 2020 – even before Musk’s positive comments on the cryptocurrency.
In contrast to CZ’s accurate prediction is Peter Schiff. The economist, gold-bug, and full-time bitcoin basher commented below CZ’s tweet, saying that “Musk is far too smart to be dumb enough to buy Bitcoin. It’s just a matter of time before you realize that too.”
However, this turned out to be yet another wrong prediction made by Schiff regarding the cryptocurrency. He has openly blasted BTC countless times in the past. Additionally, he has predicted that its value will plummet or go to zero all the way – so far, with no success.
In 2020 alone, he made a few similar forecasts. During the liquidity crash in March, when BTC dropped below $4,000, the gold evangelist projected 100% downside loss for investors. As bitcoin bounced off and started reclaiming value, he changed his stance, envisioning a new ATH for the precious metal, while “bitcoin won’t come even close” to its record by the end of the year.
While his gold projection materialized, BTC went on to smash its previous record and added an additional 50% on top of it. Moreover, bitcoin’s performance far surpassed that of the yellow metal.
In November, he said that stringent AML & KYC regulations will only harm BTC and make it less desirable to own. Since then, though, numerous prominent individuals, institutions, and corporations have found owning bitcoins “desirable” with billion-dollar worth allocations.