Veteran economist and longtime Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff has used the collapse of the CLARITY Act to renew his attack on the cryptocurrency, arguing that Bitcoin's problem was never regula
Veteran economist and longtime Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff has used the collapse of the CLARITY Act to renew his attack on the cryptocurrency, arguing that Bitcoin's problem was never regulatory ambiguity but the asset itself.
The remark came in reply to investor Anthony Pompliano, who posted on X that Bitcoin never needed the CLARITY Act because it already has clarity.
Schiff answered that what is clear is that Bitcoin is worthless, adding that no act of Congress was required to establish that.
"It's very clear that Bitcoin is worthless. No act of Congress is necessary," Schiff wrote.
The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act fell short in a Senate cloture vote Tuesday, 49-50, ten votes shy of the 60 needed, effectively killing market structure legislation for 2026. The timing said it all.
Bitcoin fell below $75,000 in the aftermath, its weakest level since late August, before steadying near $75,800.
Schiff has been building his case for months. In August, he declared the Bitcoin party over, noting that a broad risk-asset rally had lifted mining stocks and other holdings while Bitcoin barely joined in.
He warned at the time that the lag did not bode well for the next selloff in risk assets, and predicted a much bigger decline once the correction spread beyond technology shares.
His thesis rests on Bitcoin behaving as a high-beta risk asset rather than a safe haven.
Bitcoin has already shed more than half its value from the record high above $125,000 last October, and spent much of 2026 trading in the low around $60,000 range.
Pompliano has argued the opposite side. Earlier this month he said President Donald Trump's proposed $5,000 stimulus dividend would push Bitcoin, gold and land higher, pointing to the 2020 CARES Act era when Bitcoin climbed from about $6,900 to roughly $29,000 by year-end.
He has also noted that Bitcoin's recent run was driven by stablecoin capital rotating within crypto rather than fresh outside money, which he reads as a sign further gains may follow.
With Washington out of the picture for now, both men are back to arguing fundamentals.
Related: Vitalik Buterin has blunt response to AI crashing Bitcoin
