Shapeshift CEO vs. Peter Schiff in Bitcoin Debate

The Soho Forum organized a debate on the theme: " Bitcoin or another similar cryptocurrency will eventually replace fiduciary money as a medium of exchange" between Shapeshift exchange platform CEO , Erik Voorhees, and Peter Schiff, CEO from Euro Pacific Capital, skeptical about cryptocurrencies. S uite to the debate, Voorhees was elected winner by the public vote.

Voorhees, pioneer of cryptocurrencies , defended the idea that these could reverse the hegemony of fiat currencies . Schiff, a well-known conservative of the economic media , was particularly known during the 2008 crisis , because he predicted the real estate bubble and the crash that ensued. He defended the idea that cryptocurrencies are nothing more than a speculative bubble .

Voorhees supported four main points : why is bitcoin a good way to trade, why the fits are not, why the gold is insufficient, and finally why the bitcoin will prevail . He argued that bitcoin is rare, its divisibility is almost infinite and it is durable. Voorhees wanted to demonstrate the many advantages of bitcoin over old metal, including counterfeiting problems (for example, bitcoin can not be filled with tungsten ).

 

Schiff said that although cryptocurrencies have an interesting aspect because of their technology and their potential as a means of exchange , they are taking a purely speculative financial position, which is totally detrimental to their interest, their value has fallen by more than 60% since the end of the year . Moreover, according to him, it is not a safe haven either.

He admitted that the "fiat system we have now will not work, but replacing fiduciary currencies with cryptocurrency is not an improvement either . " Schiff announced that gold was a reliable reference , the mere fact that gold has existed for centuries being a sufficient proof. In the end, the men agreed: governments can ban bitcoin, and bitcoin might not be the future cryptocurrency used by everyone.

Prior to the debate, Voorhees and Schiff both had 40% public approval, but by the end of the debate, Voorhees had 55% approval while Schiff's support dropped to 31% .