Economist and market commentator Peter Schiff critiqued Monday what he perceived as Bitcoin’s BTC/USD shift from decentralized adoption to centralized buying by treasury companies.

What Happened: In an X post, Schiff expressed his views on the current state of Bitcoin demand.

“Bitcoin demand has shifted to Bitcoin treasury companies and speculators looking to front-run that buying,” Schiff argued. “This is a Ponzi built on a pyramid.”

Schiff also aimed at Bitcoin supporters who frequently espouse the asset’s decentralized origins, saying, “It's not about broadening Bitcoin adoption — it's about wild centralized speculation that undermines Bitcoin's foundational principles.”

See Also: Jamie Dimon Will ‘Go All In On Crypto,’ Says Jim Cramer After Bitcoin’s Explosive Rally: ‘I’d Like To Pay The Bookie…’

Why It Matters: Schiff’s criticism comes amid an increasing trend of companies, led by Strategy Inc. MSTR, accumulating large amounts of Bitcoin for their reserves.

The Michael Saylor-founded firm added another 4,225 BTC to its already dominant treasury, bringing the total hoard above 600 BTC, currently worth $70.45 billion.

Notably, publicly-listed companies held a total of 859, 819 BTC, according to BItcoin Treasuries, which is only 4.32% of the total BTC in circulation as of this writing.

Additionally, large investors or whales, held just about 1.25% of Bitcoin’s circulating supply, according to IntoTheBlock.

Price Action:  At the time of writing, BTC was exchanging hands at $117,274.97, down 3.04% in the last 24 hours, according to data from Benzinga Pro. 

Shares of Strategy were down 0.12% in after-hours trading after closing 3.78% higher at $451.02 during Monday’s regular trading session.

As of this writing, MSTR had a very high momentum score, but underperformed in Value and Growth metrics. New to stock trading and wondering what the trendiest picks are right now? Benzinga Edge Stock Rankings has you covered.

Photo Courtesy: sundaemorning on Shutterstock.com

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