Today in the crypto world: Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas cautions that Zcash might weaken Bitcoin’s political and cultural backing. Meanwhile, BlackRock’s clients aren’t considering Bitcoin’s potential for global payments in their investment strategies. Also, Peter Schiff warns that veteran investors selling off to ‘weak’ hands could lead to more drastic downturns in the future.
Zcash Could Cause Confusion for Bitcoin, Says Bloomberg’s Eric Balchunas
Bloomberg’s Senior ETF Analyst, Eric Balchunas, has raised a red flag about Zcash potentially hurting Bitcoin at this pivotal time.
In a recent tweet, Balchunas likened Zcash (ZEC) to third-party candidates like Gary Johnson or Jill Stein, suggesting that introducing a separate privacy coin could “split the vote” just when Bitcoin (BTC) needs strong, united support.
His remarks come as the debate between Bitcoin and Zcash heats up. Arman Meguerian, the CEO of Timestamp, brushed off the thought that Bitcoin supporters are migrating to Zcash, stating, “I don’t know a single Bitcoin maxi who thinks about Zcash at all,” he tweeted.
Samson Mow, founder of Jan3, had similar thoughts, claiming Bitcoin enthusiasts just roll their eyes at Zcash.
BlackRock Warns Clients Aren’t Seeing Bitcoin’s Payment Potential
According to Robbie Mitchnick, BlackRock’s head of digital assets, most of their clients aren’t currently viewing Bitcoin as a means for everyday payments when making investment decisions.
“For us, and most of our clients today, they’re not really underwriting to that global payment network case,” Mitchnick shared during a podcast on YouTube last Friday.
He added, “That’s sort of maybe out-of-the-money-option-value upside.”
While he didn’t dismiss the idea of Bitcoin gaining traction in payments eventually, he cautioned that this scenario seems a bit “speculative,” emphasizing that investors are more focused on Bitcoin’s role as “digital gold” or a store of value.
“A lot has to happen in terms of Bitcoin scaling, Lightning, and other innovations to make that a reality,” he explained. In August 2024, Galaxy Research highlighted that many Bitcoin Layer-2 scaling solutions, especially “rollups,” might not be sustainable in the long run, despite their appeal as a way to keep Bitcoin transactions cheap, fast, and decentralized.
Peter Schiff: Bitcoin in the Hands of ‘Weak’ Investors Will Lead to Bigger Market Drops
Gold advocate Peter Schiff believes that Bitcoin’s (BTC) shift from sturdy to “weak” investors, thanks to ongoing sell-offs from long-term holders, will lead to more serious future downturns in the market.
Schiff, a well-known Bitcoin critic, continues to argue that Bitcoin is overhyped and bound for failure. In a recent post on X, he stated:
“Some argue that after all these years, BTC is finally having its IPO moment now that there’s enough liquidity for the OGs to cash out. I agree, but this much BTC moving from strong to weak hands not only increases the float, but also means future sell-offs will be bigger.”
These comments arise amid a vast downturn in the crypto market, with investors worried that the next bear market might already be upon us.