Peter Schiff says "owning Bitcoin was a bad idea"
For one thing, I don't have any idea who Peter Schiff is. When i hear the surname "Schiff" I think about someone else who has been in the news a lot lately :)
Apparently, this guy has been anti-crypto from the start and is a big fan of investing in gold. He claims to have "lost all of his Bitcoins" and attempts to scare others into believing that it can happen to them as well.
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another Schiffty Schiff?
I am not a crypto expert. I admit that I know very little about it other than the fact that I find it exciting and was fortunate enough to be convinced to get involved a few years ago. I watch Blockfolio the same way that I used to watch my stocks on a Scottrade program that I had on my computer years before smartphones existed. I don't pretend to understand the charts and while it may be a bit lazy, I don't really want to learn them. I'm a HODL guy for the most part.
I'm along for the long ride basically, and I am perfectly ok with being a little bit ignorant about the interior workings of BTC, or really any of my other holdings.
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However, Schiff, who I guess a bunch of people look to for financial advice, seems to have a real chip on his shoulder towards BTC and crypto in a general sense. He recently stated "I knew owning Bitcoin was a bad idea, I just never realized it was this bad!"
He was referring to the fact that he was locked out of his wallet because his password was no longer valid.
The crypto community, a group that this guy routinely attacks, jumped in and tried to help the guy, even though he sounds like a real douche-canoe. Anthony Pompilano, co-founder of Morgan Creek Digital, asked Shiff if he had forgotten his password and Shiff responded "my wallet forgot my password."
Of course anyone who knows anything about the tech involved with crypto (or basically anything computer-oriented) realizes that your wallet, or your software / computer, doesn't know how to "forget" your password - This is obviously a user error or someone who doesn't understand the technology involved. Or even worse, it was done deliberately in order to create some sort of manufactured panic.
Unfortunately, this sort of scare tactic will work on people who don't understand the in's and out's of what is going on with crypto. Just think about how difficult it is to get an FB user associated with Steemit? You show them these 4 keys that all have different purposes and NONE OF THEM contain the name of one of the pets they have had in their lives and they head for the hills.
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When major news networks jump on top of a story like Shiff's but will ignore the obvious gains that BTC has made over the years, it leads me to believe that there is a vast conspiracy to keep the public afraid.
Just the other day I was telling someone how excited I was that BTC jumped over $1000 in two days and someone who I barely know hijacked the conversation to explain the downfalls of Bitcoin and how "the only thing it is used for is to buy heroin and machine guns" or something along those lines.
I don't try to convert these people, or really even engage with these people. I just simply say something along the lines of how disappointed he is going to be when he finds out that 99% of all heroin is purchased with good ol' cash! Maybe we should be afraid of cash?
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Everyone who doesn't understand it is afraid of it, that's who
I don't feel as though I need to "sell" this idea to anyone. I honestly don't care if they get involved or not. But this kind of misinformation upsets me but since there is no honesty in media these days I suppose I shouldn't be at all surprised.
Sorry if this was a bit long but to be fair it is the first time I have ever written about crypto in the 3 years I have been on here.
You got any stories of people who HATE cryto but have no meaningful reasoning for feeling that way? I have more than a few!
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I recall you made a post about finding that you had a few bitcoins from a tenant that paid you with them, so there's at least another post about crypto besides this one that you wrote ;).
dammit, you are correct... haha. not gonna edit the post... good eye!
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He either simply forgot his wallet password, or his wallet got hacked. Now I somewhat understand his saying. He is so upset about it, and I understand that. Especially, if he invested thousands of dollars into Bitcoin. But owning Bitcoin was/is still not a bad idea in my opinion. Probably forgetting his password and not having any means (for example a piece of paper in a safe place) to recover it was a bad idea. Or probably he just entered the password on other (on not his own) computers, and someone else received (or even saw) the password. This latter thing (someone see your password) can happen even with your computer. Keyloggers, for example. Or simply someone sat/stand behind him, and physically saw what he typed on his keyboard. Either way, he should have been more careful in terms of security. If he really thinks that owning Bitcoin was a bad idea, then I wish that I would have made that "bad idea" (buy or somehow get some Bitcoin) a few years ago. Now, my investment would probably be still in profit.
the thing is (and i am not even sure about this) I think that someone GAVE him the BTC just because he was such a strong opponent of it. I'm not going to bother digging into it. He hated BTC from the start and well, at least he sticks to his original thoughts.
The people you've described here trying to shit on crypto sound like the personification of Ok Boomer. I wouldn't be at all shocked to hear that they have a collection of Minion apparel and probably chat every day with their Nigerian prince who promised them a rimjob and cool million if they just send their passport and parents credit card info.
yeah that Nigerian prince still hasn't come through with my millions and the rimjob. jeez.
Pete has always been a gold bug whether the crypto market turns bullish or bearish.
Whilst I'm optimistic about crypto in general... And this particular case is definitely a user error....
It does highlight a problem that needs to be solved. People in general do want a centralised arbiter who can fix problems that may or may not been self inflicted. It is one thing to lose access to your emails... But we are asking the public in general, who often have terrible electronic hygiene and security, to place their money in a concept where personal responsibility is paramount.
I'm very much pro-crypto... Whether or not this specific case was deliberate or accidental, this is a big problem!
PS and let's not kid ourselves, even if you are hyper secure with these things, a determined attacker can and will still get you!
Oh yes, this has been the biggest issue for a long time now. I eventually gave up on trying to explain to people. If someone is genuinely interested, I will talk their ear off. If they aren't. I am not going to waste my breath. Inevitably you get the people arguing that it isn't based on anything. Either that or when I first told my dad about it and he exclaimed isn't it illegal to own that? That is pretty funny that most of the haters go right to the illegal things it is used for vs. the many benefits it has. Ask someone in Venezuela that has had their life changed because of crypto how much of a joke it is and they will probably slap you.
I think you and I take a similar approach. I was talking to an old college buddy and he asked what i've been up to and when i mentioned that just a "small part of what i do is crypto" he threw his head back and made an "urgh" sound and said he "loathes cryto-currency" but when I pressed him as to why, he didn't have a real answer.
I just decided it was best to talk about something else. I'm not trying to convert anyone and I am not recruiting at all. :P
For sure! The reality is it is pretty risky and just isn't for everyone. It could almost be worse talking them into it then having them be pissed when they loose a ton.
Sounds like a proper knob. There are many out there who will believe him though and that is just fine for now. There is always an ulterior motive and keeping it down for now is what it is all about. His voice will be lost once more and more understand and accept crypto. I still don't understand why Facebook is something as I for one never liked the concept and stayed miles away.
watch "Keiser Report" he constantly debunks schiff...... sometimes face to face....
oh this is great to know, thanks for that!
I agree to you, these are all misconception delibrately spread out through the most amazing yet misused medium called "Media"
as soon as i heard he lost it i thought that would fit right into his narrative lol how convenient , there is still a lot of FUD out there
Hi 'GoodDream' Don't fret...your post was not too long, it was well written and interesting.
Yes...I too encounter those 'haters' of crypto (I think a lot of us do) If I hadn't explored in an attempt to learn more about Blockchain myself, I might have been a hater as well; confused and only distrusting.
Howdy sir gooddream! I've been listening to Schiff for years now and generally he's very good but he's just flat out wrong on this one.
We won't have to worry about voices like his though because crypto is being accepted by the major banks and Wall Street is going all in so in a year or two everyone's(those with a brain) perception of cryptos will be entirely different.