Here’s what happened in crypto today

Today in crypto, Bitcoin’s latest rally has sparked a reaction from gold bug Peter Schiff, urging a switch to silver, new research from VanEck suggests Bitcoin mining executives have been outearning peers in related industries, and US lawmakers are set to discuss crypto tax policies as part of the Republican push to advance multiple digital asset bills.Peter Schiff says sell Bitcoin for silver as BTC smashes new highsLongtime Bitcoin critic and gold advocate Peter Schiff said the latest BTC rally may be a selling opportunity for investors to buy silver instead.“With Bitcoin hitting new highs today (in dollars), it’s a great time to sell some and buy silver ahead of silver’s next big leg up,” Schiff said in a Thursday X post as Bitcoin (BTC) put on its moon boots again and set new highs above $112,000.He claimed that silver has more upside potential than Bitcoin and added that while BTC “can easily crash, silver’s downside seems very limited.”Arthur Hayes, co-founder of BitMEX, also weighed in on market conditions in a Friday X post. He said he was “slightly bearish” due to the US Treasury General Account being replenished through new debt issuance, which could temporarily drain liquidity.Still, Hayes said he is bullish after Bitcoin reached a new all-time high and Ether (ETH) went on a march upward:“[Ether] will outperform, get ready for a monster [altcoin season.]”Hayes added that the market believes US President Donald Trump will “chicken out” on the tariffs, adding that his family office fund, Maelstrom, is ready to reenter the market.Investors are balking at “excessive” Bitcoin miner exec pay: VanEckUS Bitcoin mining executives are earning well above their peers in the IT and energy sectors due to generous stock compensation packages, and shareholders are fighting back, according to new findings from asset manager VanEck.Despite “aggressive compensation packages,” Bitcoin mining firm shareholders are “balking,” VanEck head of digital assets research Matthew Sigel and investment analyst Nathan Frankovitz reported on Thursday. The researchers found that average shareholder approval for executive pay packages is just 64% compared to around 90% for S&P 500 and Russell 3000 companies. “That skepticism appears well-founded. Mining executives continue to grant themselves oversized equity awards that dilute shareholders without reliably linking pay to long-term value creation,” they added. The researchers reviewed executive compensation across eight US-listed Bitcoin miners: Bit Digital, Cipher Mining, CleanSpark, Core Scientific, Hut 8, MARA Holdings, Riot Platforms and TeraWulf.US lawmakers to focus on crypto tax policyMembers of the United States House of Representatives will hold a hearing on crypto tax policy next week, as part of a broader GOP effort to advance various crypto-related bills.The House Committee on Ways and Means and the Oversight Committee have scheduled the hearing for July 16. Lawmakers plan to discuss “affirmative steps needed to place a tax policy framework on digital assets.” The event is dubbed “ensuring digital asset policy built for the 21st century.”Source: US House Committee on Ways and MeansThe notice did not specify which witnesses would testify. Earlier this week, Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse, Chainalysis CEO Jonathan Levin and Blockchain Association CEO Summer Mersinger testified at a Senate Banking Committee hearing on market structure legislation.Earlier this month, Wyoming Senator Cynthia Lummis introduced legislation aimed at eliminating double taxation for crypto miners and stakers, but the proposal did not make it into the final amendments to President Trump’s budget bill.