Gold bug and longtime Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff stunned the crypto community by admitting he understands the concept of a Bitcoin reserve while simultaneously trashing the inclusion of XRP.
“Why the hell would we need that?” Schiff bluntly questioned after Donald Trump’s announcement of a strategic cryptocurrency reserve that would include Bitcoin, XRP, Ethereum, Solana, and Cardano.
Schiff’s comments raised eyebrows across crypto Twitter. The notorious Bitcoin skeptic compared BTC to “digital gold” while singling out XRP as particularly unworthy of inclusion.
He didn’t stop there. In follow-up comments, Schiff doubled down on his criticism, sarcastically suggesting the reserve might as well include “Fartcoin” while questioning why tech stocks like NVDA or AAPL weren’t considered instead.
Cardano founder Charles Hoskinson quickly came to XRP’s defense, calling it “great technology” and highlighting its decade-long survival through multiple market cycles.
Hoskinson praised XRP’s strong community and backed Trump’s decision to include the cryptocurrency in the proposed reserve.
The announcement of a U.S. Crypto Reserve has sparked intense debate about asset selection criteria. Some purists argue a Bitcoin-only approach would make more sense, while others support a market cap-weighted index of multiple cryptocurrencies.
Bitwise CEO Hunter Horsley is among the industry leaders who favor a Bitcoin-only reserve rather than the multi-token approach.
Details remain sparse, with more information expected at the upcoming White House Crypto Summit.
What’s particularly surprising is Schiff’s admission that he understands the rationale for a Bitcoin reserve—a stark contrast to his historically anti-Bitcoin stance.
This subtle shift hasn’t gone unnoticed by crypto enthusiasts.
Schiff’s criticisms came as Bitcoin was trading at over $93,000, showing significant recovery from the recent market downturn.
Meanwhile, XRP prices surged following the reserve announcement, despite Schiff’s criticism.
Notably, unlike traditional stablecoin alternatives, XRP was not designed with the explicit purpose of maintaining consistent value during market volatility.
The possibility of government backing has renewed interest in XRP’s potential use cases and sparked fresh debates about cryptocurrency legitimacy.
Regulatory implications remain unclear, but one thing’s certain: Schiff isn’t convinced XRP belongs in any strategic national reserve. Not even close.
