Ethereum in a Bear Market, Peter Schiff Warns as ETH Slides Below $4K

Renowned economist and crypto critic Peter Schiff has issued a warning about Ethereum amid its decline below $4,000. Schiff also alluded to Bitcoin, predicting that further declines for the flagship crypto.

Peter Schiff Says Ethereum Is in an ‘Official Bear Market’

In an X post, the economist remarked that ETH is now in an official bear market, having dropped from its August record high. This came as he noted that the second-largest crypto by market had just tanked below the $4,000 price mark.

TradingView data shows that the ETH price has dropped to as low as $3,948 today, marking the first time that the altcoin has fallen below $4,000 since August 8. Schiff noted that this drop has occurred despite the buying pressure from Ethereum treasury companies.

Meanwhile, the economist warned that Bitcoin is likely to be the next asset to enter a bear market. Notably, he had been criticizing ETH right from when the altcoin began its rally in July. Back then, he warned market participants to sell their ETH and pivot to BTC despite him being a known Bitcoin critic.

Shortly after Ethereum climbed above $4,000 in August, Schiff again doubled down on his warning against ETH, recommending that everyone switch to Bitcoin. “I have no interest in owning either, but if you put a gun to my head, I’d choose Bitcoin,” he remarked back then.

Coinglass data shows that ETH has again led in liquidations amid the recent decline below $4,000. Over the last 24 hours, $225 million in ETH positions have been liquidated, with $204 million of those being long positions. Bitcoin comes in second place with $58 million in BTC liquidations.

ETH ETF Outflows Persist

The Ethereum decline has occurred as the ETH ETF outflows persist. According to SoSo Value data, these funds recorded $79.36 million in outflows on September 24. BlackRock’s iShares Ethereum Trust (ETHA) led the way with $26.47 million in outflows.

Over the last seven days, these funds have recorded five net outflow days and two net inflow days. Meanwhile, with September approaching its end, these funds have recorded just over $110 million in net inflows for the month. This marks a significant shift from August and July, when the funds saw net inflows of $3.87 billion and $5.43 billion, respectively.

The Ethereum decline also comes despite projections that a Fed rate cut would provide a major boost for ETH and other altcoins. Instead, ETH, along with the broader market, has been in a downtrend since last week, when the FOMC made its first rate cut of the year.

However, a positive is that the SEC is likely to approve staking for the Ethereum ETFs by the final deadline in October, which could spark another wave of demand for the altcoin. Meanwhile, REX-Osprey just launched the first ETH staking ETF under the 40 Act, which is also a positive for the altcoin.