Peter Schiff Questions Catalysts Behind Bitcoin Rally, Citing Saylor

Bitcoin critic Peter Schiff has questioned the factors behind Bitcoin’s recent advance, attributing the move to Strategy’s latest Bitcoin purchase and comments from Michael Saylor. 

In a post on X on September 22, Schiff said Bitcoin had rallied significantly the previous day. He said the catalyst appeared to be Strategy’s purchase and Saylor’s remarks that the failure to pass the CLARITY Act was actually bullish for Bitcoin. Schiff added that he was sure Saylor would have made the same statement had the Act been passed into law.

In a separate post, Schiff referenced Strategy’s earlier sales. He noted that during its last Bitcoin selling period, Strategy sold 6,948 Bitcoin for approximately $431.8 million in net proceeds, or about $62,150 per Bitcoin. He observed that the company was now buying back some of the Bitcoin it had sold at prices above $80,000 per coin and stated that it would not be long before the company was selling at lower prices again.

Earlier remarks by Schiff

Schiff has previously commented on Strategy’s preferred shares and Bitcoin price movements. In an August 24 post on X, he questioned whether Strategy could continue using its STRC preferred shares to raise capital for Bitcoin purchases while the security traded below its $100 reference price. 

At the time, STRC was trading at around $95. Schiff argued that the lower market price could make it harder for Strategy to issue additional STRC on existing terms and said the company may need to increase the dividend to attract investors to new offerings.

In another earlier post, Schiff dismissed Bitcoin’s move above $72,000 as a “fakeout,” arguing that the rally did not yet signal a sustainable breakout. He linked the advance to the U.S. Treasury’s decision to expand purchases of longer-term government bonds and pointed investors toward gold, saying the market may be misreading the impact of easier financial conditions.

Strategy’s recent Bitcoin activity

Strategy Inc., formerly known as MicroStrategy, reported in a Form 8-K filed on September 21, 2026, that it acquired 950 Bitcoin between September 14 and September 20 for an aggregate $75.7 million. The average purchase price was $79,670 per Bitcoin, inclusive of fees and expenses. The purchases were funded from USD cash.

Following the acquisition, Strategy reported total holdings of 846,000 Bitcoin, acquired at an aggregate cost of $63.80 billion, or an average of $75,416 per Bitcoin. The company also repurchased $174 million of its STRC preferred stock during the same period. As of September 20, Strategy held $5.04 billion in its USD reserve and $1.05 billion in USD cash.

CLARITY Act status

The Digital Asset Market CLARITY Act failed to clear its first floor test in the United States Senate. The chamber did not invoke cloture on the motion to proceed to H.R. 3633 on September 15. More than 40 senators voted against the procedural motion, leaving the bill short of the 60-vote threshold needed to end debate and advance. The vote blocked the bill from advancing at that stage of the Senate process.

Bitcoin price momentum

Bitcoin traded at $86,453.93, reflecting a 0.6% increase over the previous 24 hours. The price ranged between $85,107.27 and $87,329.89. Market capitalization stood at $1.737 trillion, with 24-hour trading volume of $46.805 billion. 

Circulating supply was reported at 20.088 million BTC against a maximum supply of 21 million. The all-time high remains $126,080 from October 6, 2025. The all-time low is $67.81 from July 5, 2013.

Also Read: Bitcoin ETFs Draw Nearly $1 Billion as Rally Pushes BTC Above $86K