The American libertarian, economist and financial commentator Peter Schiff has been criticizing bitcoin for years, as he believes “bitcoin has no real value.” However, on Thursday Schiff asked the crypto community to give some bitcoin to his 18-year old son Spencer for his birthday and explained that his son “won’t lose his” wallet.
The Bitcoin community is well acquainted with Peter Schiff the economist and gold bug who has been knocking bitcoin for years. Every few days, Schiff has something to say about the cryptocurrency and it’s never anything positive.
Schiff’s Wiki says that “at times, [Peter Schiff] has remarked that he sees Bitcoin not as an alternative to gold, but more as resembling the tulip mania bubble.”
Despite Peter’s feelings against bitcoin, just recently his son Spencer Schiff purchased some bitcoin and does not have the same contempt for it as his father does. Spencer is also like his father, as he believes in free markets and sound economics.
“The free market is the nexus of mutually-beneficial, voluntary exchanges,” Spencer tweeted on August 17. “It represents cooperation, harmony, and social cohesion. Conversely, the political system is inherently divisive. Its coercive nature creates antagonistic relationships that inevitably foster conflict,” he added.
Spencer just turned 18 the other day, so his father tweeted to the Bitcoin community and asked them to send his son some satoshis for his birthday.
“Since so many of you Bitcoin guys are ribbing me because my son Spencer bought bitcoin, why not really rub it in by gifting him some as a belated birthday present,” Schiff wrote on Thursday. “He turned 18 yesterday. He won’t lose his. Here’s his wallet address.”
Of course, Schiff was referring to the time he lost access to his bitcoin wallet after Shapeshift founder Erik Voorhees gifted him a bitcoin in 2018.
A number of bitcoin luminaries and experts have debated Schiff in the past or have tried to persuade him about the benefits of bitcoin. Despite the attempts from many, Schiff continues to rag on the crypto day in and day out, and he gathers a lot of attention for his statements.
After Schiff’s tweet about giving Spencer some bitcoin for his birthday, the gold bug said that so far his son got around $300 worth of bitcoin.
“Of course, Bitcoin has no real value, but it’s the thought that counts,” Schiff tweeted. “On behalf of my son Spencer, thanks for the generous birthday gifts.” His son Spencer has achieved a sizable following on Twitter in recent months, and he speaks fondly of bitcoin and precious metals regularly.
“The simultaneous surge in the prices of gold, silver, and bitcoin represents a repudiation of global currency debasement and the regime of fiat money,” the young Schiff wrote on Twitter recently.
Similarly, Spencer’s dad Peter amassed quite a following from his father Irwin as well. Irwin Schiff was a well known libertarian and tax resistance advocate.
Irwin also testified in 1968 before the Senate Committee on Banking and Currency when the United States decided to remove gold backing from Federal Reserve Notes (FRNs). Additionally, throughout much of his life, Irwin spent writing and promoting literature that argued income tax was immoral and unconstitutional.
Unfortunately, Schiff passed away in prison serving a sentence for his tax evasion and died on October 16, 2015.
“In 1976, his beliefs in free market economics, limited government, and strict interpretation of the Constitution led him to write his first book, The Biggest Con: How the Government is Fleecing You,” Peter Schiff wrote about his father in 2015.
“A blistering indictment of the post-New Deal expansion of government in the United States. The book achieved accolades in the mainstream conservative world, receiving a stellar review in the Wall Street Journal, among other mainstream publications,” the gold bug added in an open letter to the public.
Schiff further stated:
My father was most known for his staunch opposition to the federal income tax, for which the U.S. government labeled him a ‘tax protester.’ But he had no objection to lawful, reasonable taxation.
Peter Schiff may not like bitcoin, but he is a free market advocate and when his father was locked away, he told the media his dad was a “political prisoner.” All three Schiffs have criticized U.S. politicians and Federal Reserve board members for fleecing the American public on a regular basis.
Despite the fact that Schiff doesn’t agree with bitcoiners, most crypto proponents do agree with his disdain toward the state’s central planners and today’s money changers.
What do you think about Peter Schiff asking people to gift bitcoin to his son Spencer? Let us know what you think about this subject in the comments section below.
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