Peter Schiff Clashes With President Trump as Economic and Crypto Debates Intensify

Financial commentator Peter Schiff is back in the news as tensions rise between him and President Donald Trump over the state of the U.S. economy. Schiff’s warnings about rising prices clash with Trump’s claims that affordability is improving across the country. At the same time, Schiff has also renewed his public dispute with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao (CZ), giving his comments even more visibility.

Trump’s Comments on Gas Prices Spark Renewed Economic Tensions

The conflict with Trump escalated after the president criticized Schiff on Truth Social for appearing on Fox & Friends Weekend. Trump questioned the network’s decision to invite him and called Schiff a “Trump-hating loser.” 

He defended his own record by saying prices are falling and gas has dropped to $1.99 in some states. Trump also repeated his claim that the affordability crisis started under Joe Biden.

Schiff responded on X and invited Trump—or a representative—to debate him on economic policy. He also said Trump’s platform should be called “Lie Social,” arguing that the president misrepresents the truth. During his TV appearance, Schiff said inflation is likely to rise as Trump’s proposed policies play out. 

He added that Trump shares responsibility for current economic problems because several early-term decisions increased pressure on prices.

Earlier in the week, Trump dismissed the affordability discussion during a cabinet meeting and called it a “Democrat scam.” He said the word has no meaning, even though Google data shows a sharp rise in affordability-related searches compared to last year.

While pushing back against Trump, Schiff also took part in a debate at Binance Blockchain Week in Dubai, where he faced off with Binance founder Changpeng Zhao. Their discussion focused on whether Bitcoin or tokenized gold works better as money.

Schiff Fires Back at Trump as CZ Debate Heats Up

Schiff argued that any strong monetary system should be backed by something physical. He said Bitcoin has no inherent value and depends on speculation. He presented tokenized gold as a practical option and pointed to his TGold platform, which lets users buy physical gold through an app and store it in secure vaults.

CZ took the opposite view, pointing to Bitcoin’s global reach and ease of transfer. During the debate, he held up a small piece of gold and noted how inconvenient it is to move compared with a digital asset. He added that Binance has hundreds of millions of users who hold Bitcoin. His argument focused on adoption, portability, and the idea that digital assets can hold value without a physical base.

Several key points summed up their disagreement over what gives money its value:

• Schiff said money must be backed by something tangible.
• CZ said digital assets can hold value through demand and usage.
• Schiff argued Bitcoin’s price is driven mostly by speculation.
• CZ disagreed and compared Bitcoin’s value to major tech platforms.
• Both acknowledged rising adoption but disagreed on the reasons behind it.

Their exchange drew more attention after Trump granted CZ a full pardon. CZ had been facing legal issues related to compliance failures at Binance, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. Trump said CZ “wasn’t guilty” and blamed the Biden administration for the case.