Does bitcoin really have any real-world value backing it?

US debt surpasses 4 trillion, and the perennial debate on mining energy resurfaces.

Author: Phil Haunhorst

Translation: Saoirse, Foresight News

This weekend, Peter Schiff reignited the debate over Bitcoin’s value proposition. He claimed that the energy consumed in the mining process leaves behind nothing to provide an underlying source of value for Bitcoin.

Jeff Swanson, a self-proclaimed "Bitcoin maximalist" (those who have strong faith in Bitcoin, consider it the only valuable crypto asset, and reject other public blockchains and altcoins), previously declared publicly that Bitcoin is the future of money. Peter Schiff countered, and their debate brought the classic “source of monetary value” argument back into the crypto spotlight.

Peter Schiff Refutes the Argument That Bitcoin Has Value Support

In Swanson’s original post, he outlined three main pillars of Bitcoin’s value, with energy consumption as the foremost, followed by fixed issuance and high computational power.

Schiff directly rejected this logic. He wrote that energy is completely dissipated the moment miners consume it and leaves behind nothing to maintain the network. In his view, mining is about consuming value, not storing it.

This gold advocate has maintained his stance for years: once gold is mined from the earth, the physical commodity remains, whereas electricity disappears as soon as it is used up.

The current industry situation also gives his view some traction. Since many computational power operators have redirected power resources towards artificial intelligence operations, Bitcoin’s total network hash rate has declined for several consecutive months, and many miners have exited the Bitcoin network this year.

However, Schiff never mentioned Bitcoin’s fixed supply cap—a crucial point. This means arguments supporting Bitcoin’s value must continue to rely on the hard rule of the supply limit, not energy consumption.

The Now-Obsolete 3.9 Trillion Dollar Figure

Swanson cited US government debt at 3.9 trillion dollars, but data from the US Treasury disputes this. Daily statistics from the Treasury show that outstanding public debt broke 4 trillion dollars on August 18 and reached 4.01 trillion dollars by September 3.

US national debt surpasses 4 trillion dollars by 2026 | Source: BeInCrypto

This data discrepancy is critical, as most of Swanson’s arguments hinge on the comparison with US debt. After national debt hit a record 4 trillion dollars in August, the scale of US borrowing showed no sign of slowing down.

Swanson also linked Bitcoin’s case to market confidence in US dollar issuance, but Schiff didn’t respond to that part—he solely rebutted the idea that “energy gives Bitcoin value.”

Schiff’s stance has softened slightly in the past: last month he admitted he missed out on Bitcoin’s gains, but still insisted that the actual returns for long-term Bitcoin holders were not as impressive as publicly claimed.

Neither side made concessions in this round of debate. But as long as US debt hits new highs, the question of “whether Bitcoin actually has a value anchor” will keep coming back for discussion.