Due to its nature as a paradigm-shifting technology, Bitcoin and its brethren have been trashed for years now. Out of this asset class’ countless skeptics, Peter Schiff is likely one of the first to come to mind. Schiff, a prominent gold proponent, has been lambasting Bitcoin for at least five years, claiming that it pales in comparison to gold in many respects.
But, in an interesting turn of events, the chief executive of Euro Pacific Capital recently agreed to hear the arguments of Bitcoin bulls, on two forums no less. There’s no guarantee that he will change his mind on the cryptocurrency, but here’s to hoping.
Give a Man Some Bitcoin…
Earlier this month, Schiff surprisingly posted his Bitcoin address on Twitter after he was egged on by Anthony “Pomp” Pompliano of Morgan Creek, who revealed that the investor was in possession of some gifted BTC.
Quickly, the charitable side of the cryptocurrency industry, which is rather generous (search up the Pineapple Fund), got to work. Within a few hours, the address racked up over $1,000 worth of Bitcoin; and now, just a week after he posted the address, it contains around $2,500 worth of the cryptocurrency.
Schiff, who surprisingly didn’t opt to sell the Bitcoin for gold, then noted that he planned to “HODL it and go down with the ship”. This was presumably a quippy jab at the “HODL” subset of cryptocurrency investors, most of which are convinced that holding and forgetting about Bitcoin is advantageous.
Due to the donations, Schiff has been a bit more active with the cryptocurrency community. In fact, earlier this week, he revealed that he would be opening the floor to Bitcoin bulls and proponents to talk with him next Monday on his Youtube channel. The Euro Pacific executive is noted that his “mind is open”, and that he wants to hear a viable argument about why BTC is viable and potentially just as good, if not better than gold.
I'm doing a bitcoin challenge live on my YouTube channel on Monday night. I'm inviting people to try to change my mind on Bitcoin. Feel free to take a shot. You never know you may convince me that I'm wrong. My mind is open.
— Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) July 9, 2019
So, if you’re up for a bit of a challenge, descend on Schiff’s Youtube channel next Monday night to try and make one of a gold’s biggest names a cryptocurrency shill.
Taking it to T.V.
What’s more, Schiff recently agreed to duke it out against Pompliano, one of the most-followed Bitcoin proponents on Twitter, in an upcoming episode of CNBC Africa’s “Crypto Trader”, hosted by crypto investor Ran NeuNer. Pompliano hopes that the gold bug walks away as a “Bitcoin believer”.
CONFIRMED: @PeterSchiff and I will be debating Bitcoin and Gold on CNBC’s Crypto Trader with @cryptomanran as the moderator.
Peter should get a lot of credit for agreeing to this. Hopefully he walks away a Bitcoin believer ????????
— Pomp ???? (@APompliano) July 10, 2019
It is important to note that many have already tried (and failed) to convince Schiff of Bitcoin’s value proposition. Those that have tried include Saifedean Ammous, an economist and anti-fiat proponent that theoretically should have beliefs that align with Schiff’s, and Barry Silbert, one of the masterminds behind the “Drop/Bye Gold, Buy Bitcoin” campaign.
What’s weird is that Schiff’s skepticism comes as economists, mainstream media figures, and prominent venture capitalists and investors have begun to acknowledge Bitcoin as a store of value and safe haven, something Schiff vehemently denies. In fact, speaking to CNBC, a former Facebook executive claimed that BTC is the best safe haven play of all time.
Per previous reports from Blockonomi, Chamath Palihapitiya, the incumbent chief executive of Social Capital, said that Bitcoin is the perfect hedge “against the traditional financial infrastructure”. He elaborated that if fiscal or monetary policy is wonky, as it arguably is now, owning Bitcoin is like “the schmuck insurance you have under your mattress”. His comments come as the macroeconomy has begun to tread on thin ice, according to data from the New York Federal Reserve itself.
Palihapitiya claims that Bitcoin’s value proposition as a safe haven and hedge gives it the potential to reach over $1,000,000 in a few decades’ time.