Gold enthusiast and longtime Bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff has some unsolicited advice for Iranians navigating their currency's collapse, and surprise—it doesn't involve Bitcoin (BTC).

Why Schiff Picks Gold (Again)

In an interview on the Randi Hipper show that aired Thursday, Schiff laid out his preferred strategy for anonymous transactions during Iran's escalating crisis. Faced with a worthless rial, internet bans, and limited options, he'd reach for tokenized gold instead of Bitcoin.

"I'd rather have a cryptocurrency backed up by real money," Schiff explained, emphasizing that Bitcoin is "backed by nothing." His recommendation? Stablecoins, particularly gold-backed ones.

"There are plenty of those that you could get into. And in fact, the best stable coin, believe, would be a tokenized gold," he said.

Iran's Currency Collapse Drives Crypto Adoption

The context matters here. The Iranian Rial has become essentially worthless against the dollar, pushing desperate citizens toward cryptocurrencies as a hedge against inflation. It's a textbook case of people fleeing to alternative assets when their national currency implodes.

But there's a wrinkle. Internet shutdowns expose a major vulnerability for digital assets. Still, reports suggest Iranians have found workarounds, allegedly using Bitchat—a decentralized messaging app developed by Jack Dorsey's Block Inc.—and similar platforms to send Bitcoin via Bluetooth when internet access disappears.

The Numbers Tell a Different Story About 'Digital Gold'

Schiff's pitch for gold-backed crypto actually has some data behind it. Bitcoin's reputation as "digital gold" has taken a beating in 2025, while precious metals-backed cryptocurrencies have quietly outperformed.

Tether Gold (CRYPTO: XAUT) and PAX Gold (PAXG) have both climbed over 70% in the past year. Meanwhile, Bitcoin has dropped 4%.

Here's how the numbers stack up:

For investors who've been hearing "Bitcoin is digital gold" for years, these returns might come as a surprise. When push comes to shove during actual economic turmoil, the crypto tokens backed by actual gold have delivered what Bitcoin promised but didn't quite achieve this time around.

Whether Iranians will follow Schiff's advice remains unclear, but the performance gap between Bitcoin and gold-backed alternatives gives his argument more weight than it might have had a year ago.