peter schiff disses bitcoin

[tango@bitango]

From goldsilverbitcoin.com :

Is he right....?

GSBTC: Hello, who are you?

My name is Peter Schiff and I am in the investment business.

GSBTC: What brings you to the California Resource Investment Conference?

Peter: I am a speaker here, and my company Euro Pacific Capital is an exhibitor here, so we’re prospecting and some clients of ours are here so we are saying hello to people.

GSBTC:  We are going around trying to gauge people of Bitcoin. Have you heard of it?

Peter: I have heard of Bitcoin. It is an electronic medium of exchange.

GSBTC: How tangible is bitcoin?

Peter: It is not tangible at all, as it exists in cyberspace and so you can’t hold onto it. It’s in a computer somewhere. People are currently using it and I know people are willing to accept bitcoins in the exchange of goods and services. But, who knows what the future will bring. I am rather skeptical about it as a real alternative to the current fiat monetary system. I know we need an alternative monetary system, but I am more of a believer in real money, like gold and silver, not some cyber alternative to paper money. I don’t have faith in paper money, so I’m not also going toput faith into a computer generated money that has no intrinsic value outside of its theoretical scarcity and  the fact that people are willing toaccept it, even though it has no value in and of itself whatsoever.

Plus, it’s very new. Gold has a 5,000 year history. Bitcoin has a, what, 2-3 year history? It’s too young to know to put your faith in something like Bitcoin.

GSBTC: Well, its very cutting edge. There’s never been a currency that has ever existed on the network such as Bitcoin.

Peter: But, how do you know it is not like pets.com?  It’s a fad and just because  people are accepting it today, something could happen, there could be a scandal. I don’t know that I would feel comfortable if I took my life savings and converted it into bitcoins. We’ll see where it is in 10-20 years.

GSBTC: Our argument is it is a tangible source of exchange, because I have it here on my phone, you can have it on yours, and we can exchange instantly.

Peter: But, you don’t need bitcoins to do that. I understand that as long as people are accepting them, then you can do that, but if someone doesn’t want your bitcoins then you’re stuck. It’s like the music stops, and they could end up being like beanie babies. People were collecting them, thought they had a value, but now people use them for insulation for their walls now.

[mwag]

Peter Schiff: Bitcoin is like beanie babies.

Way to obsolete yourself Peter!

Hey Peter, if people stop using Gold as a store of value, all you can do is make yourself look pretty (debatable) or wire your house with it. Do you think it will sustain $1600 an ounce for those purposes? Considering it's just sitting around doing nothing in useless bar form, I think the market could be quite flooded with it and it will be worth less than copper, which is already conveniently stored as pipes and wire.

People change. Times change. The old ideas are replaced. How long of a history did slavery have before humans decided that there was a better way? "Ooooohhh shiny" may not to survive the digital age. Are you prepared?

[notbrain]

Who is Peter Schiff?

[iwilcox]

I know we need an alternative monetary system, but I am more of a believer in real money, like gold and silver, not some cyber alternative to paper money. I don’t have faith in paper money, so I’m not also going to put faith into a computer generated money that has no intrinsic value outside of its theoretical scarcity and  the fact that people are willing to accept it, even though it has no value in and of itself whatsoever.

Well, I'd agree with him up to "no value in and of itself whatsoever".  The value of Bitcoin is no more or less faith-based than the value of paper money, and he's consistent in that he has faith in neither.

[mwag]

I know we need an alternative monetary system, but I am more of a believer in real money, like gold and silver, not some cyber alternative to paper money. I don’t have faith in paper money, so I’m not also going to put faith into a computer generated money that has no intrinsic value outside of its theoretical scarcity and  the fact that people are willing to accept it, even though it has no value in and of itself whatsoever.

Well, I'd agree with him up to "no value in and of itself whatsoever".  The value of Bitcoin is no more or less faith-based than the value of paper money, and he's consistent in that he has faith in neither.

99% of Gold's value is based on "faith". Does he think it's currently valued at around $1600 per ounce because people can look pretty or conduct electricity with it?

[Severian]

Who is Peter Schiff?

Peter "Just Blow The Place Up" Schiff is just another statist fuck that has some people fooled into thinking he's not.

[URSAY]

Who is Peter Schiff?

Edit:  Why should I care about this guy?

[mwag]

Who is Peter Schiff?

Peter "Just Blow The Place Up" Schiff is just another statist fuck that has some people fooled into thinking he's not.

Wow. Thanks for the link!

[iwilcox]

99% of Gold's value is based on "faith". Does he think it's currently valued at around $1600 per ounce because people can look pretty or conduct electricity with it?

Sure, but it's faith that has proved itself historically to be a) far more reliable over the ages, b) far more globally agreed upon than faith in fiat currencies.

It's a necessary property of money that people have faith in it.  It's not a necessary property that it be intrinsically valuable.

If promissory notes could still be redeemed for gold, you and I would take the banks up on the offer.

[evoorhees]

I was on Peter Schiff's radio show today (though Tom Woods was guest hosting).

Peter will not be able to avoid BTC for long 

Friday March 8 episode. Bitcoin talk starts at 40:00
http://schiffradio.com/

[bbit]

I was on Peter Schiff's radio show today (though Tom Woods was guest hosting).

Peter will not be able to avoid BTC for long 

Friday March 8 episode. Bitcoin talk starts at 40:00
http://schiffradio.com/

You did great btw!

There is no avoiding Bitcoins!

[allthingsluxury]

I was on Peter Schiff's radio show today (though Tom Woods was guest hosting).

Peter will not be able to avoid BTC for long 

Friday March 8 episode. Bitcoin talk starts at 40:00
http://schiffradio.com/

Once again great job in informing the masses Erik.

[notbrain]

I was on Peter Schiff's radio show today (though Tom Woods was guest hosting).

Peter will not be able to avoid BTC for long 

Friday March 8 episode. Bitcoin talk starts at 40:00
http://schiffradio.com/

Sigh I have to sign up and give a credit card just to listen? And then figure out how to cancel? I only pay for Howard Stern.

[odolvlobo]

Peter Schiff: Bitcoin is like beanie babies.

Way to obsolete yourself Peter!

Hey Peter, if people stop using Gold as a store of value, all you can do is make yourself look pretty (debatable) or wire your house with it. Do you think it will sustain $1600 an ounce for those purposes? Considering it's just sitting around doing nothing in useless bar form, I think the market could be quite flooded with it and it will be worth less than copper, which is already conveniently stored as pipes and wire.

People change. Times change. The old ideas are replaced. How long of a history did slavery have before humans decided that there was a better way? "Ooooohhh shiny" may not to survive the digital age. Are you prepared?

Please don't dismiss Peter Schiff's opinion. He makes a strong argument. You are blind if you don't understand that bitcoin could end up being just another fad (like Beanie Babies). Back before the dot com bubble burst, people were saying how the new internet companies were the "new economy", and how they made the rest of the economy obsolete. And then they all went out of business, and the people that believed in the "new economy" lost all their money.

I believe he is being too conservative and timid. Bitcoin is an incredible invention, and even though adoption isn't guaranteed, I think it is likely: "build a better mousetrap and the world will beat a path to your door." Still, I'm not foolish enough to convert all my money into BTC.

[Monster Tent]

Hes probably trying to downplay bitcoin so he can buy them cheaper.

[odolvlobo]

I was on Peter Schiff's radio show today (though Tom Woods was guest hosting).

Peter will not be able to avoid BTC for long 

Friday March 8 episode. Bitcoin talk starts at 40:00
http://schiffradio.com/

Sigh I have to sign up and give a credit card just to listen? And then figure out how to cancel? I only pay for Howard Stern.

No. Just click on the "Erik Voorhees Interview" link.

[Hunyadi]

How old is this interview?

[BTCvFiat]

Stick to Gold and Silver if you like Peter Schiff but leave your ignorant opinions about Bitcoin at the door to the benefit of all others.

On Pets.com, note the .com and the crashes ties to the US Federal Reserve (hasn't been a market since before then, US Fed's been involved for longer than many realise).

Bitcoin itself may come and go, but the idea of a complete anonymous crypto currency for online transactions won't end with it. Bitcoin let the cat out of the bag on this one, and regardless of the name of said cat (currency, Bitcoin or otherwise) won't change a thing ultimately in the grand scheme of things to the detriment of the IMF and all that entails.

edit .dom <well it was doomed to start with> to .com, crash's to crashes.

[hardcore-fs]

Peter obviously knows next to fuck all about the subject.
I stopped reading after this little gem....

"Peter: It is not tangible at all, as it exists in cyberspace and so you can’t hold onto it. It’s in a computer somewhere. "

[notbrain]

I was on Peter Schiff's radio show today (though Tom Woods was guest hosting).

Peter will not be able to avoid BTC for long 

Friday March 8 episode. Bitcoin talk starts at 40:00
http://schiffradio.com/

Sigh I have to sign up and give a credit card just to listen? And then figure out how to cancel? I only pay for Howard Stern.

No. Just click on the "Erik Voorhees Interview" link.

"You must be a Schiff Premium Member to listen to this audio. Please upgrade to a Schiff premium membership."