Is Bitcoin Acting As Silver's Mirror Image? Economist Questions 'Fake Crash' Narrative Amid Diverging Asset Trajectories

Renowned economist Peter Schiff recently raised eyebrows by highlighting an unusual divergence between Bitcoin and precious metals. While silver experienced a robust November rally with a 16.5% monthly surge, Bitcoin’s leading digital asset stumbled with a 17.5% decline during the same period.

The Contrasting Performance Puzzle

The opposing trajectories of these two assets caught Schiff’s attention, prompting him to describe Bitcoin as behaving like a “mirror image” of silver’s movements. This inverse correlation presents an intriguing puzzle for market observers trying to understand the underlying drivers of each asset’s performance.

According to the latest market data, Bitcoin has continued its subdued performance into 2026, with a 24-hour decline of 1.73% as of mid-January. This persistent weakness stands in sharp contrast to precious metals’ resilience, creating what some analysts are questioning as potentially a “fake crash” scenario—where technical weakness masks underlying fundamental strength.

Economist’s Perspective On The Divergence

Schiff’s observation underscores a growing debate within financial circles about whether Bitcoin’s recent weakness represents a genuine market correction or merely a temporary retracement within a larger uptrend. The mirror-image pattern with silver suggests that traditional hedging assumptions may be shifting, with institutional players potentially reallocating between different alternative assets.

This divergence raises questions about which asset class offers better value protection in the current macroeconomic environment. The inverted performance between Bitcoin and precious metals indicates evolving investor sentiment and changing risk-management strategies during periods of economic uncertainty.