Peter Schiff: Bitcoin, Gold and Our Fragile Inflated Economy

Peter Schiff is an honorary chairman of SchiffGold, founder of Euro Pacific Asset Management, and host of The Peter Schiff Show. He is an economic forecaster & investment advisor influenced by the free-market Austrian School of economics. His best-selling book, "The Real Crash, "warns that the 2008 financial crisis was just the prelude to a larger sovereign debt crisis that may lead to a collapse of the US dollar.

In this interview, Peter shares his insights on gold, Bitcoin, and the state of our fragile economy.

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Full bio via SchiffGold.com:

Background

Peter Schiff's investment career began with Shearson Lehman Brothers in the early 1990s. In 1996, he and a partner started Euro Pacific Capital in Los Angeles, later moving the headquarters to Connecticut. The firm has since expanded, with offices in Scottsdale, Arizona, Boca Raton, Florida, Newport Beach, California, Los Angeles and New York City. Euro Pacific Capital's investment strategy focuses on long-term wealth savings in the face of a declining US dollar with an emphasis on emerging market and commodity-focused investments.

Peter is best known for accurately forecasting the 2008 financial crisis. During a Fox News debate in December 2006, Schiff said, "What's going to happen in 2007 is that real estate prices are going to come crashing back down to Earth." Business news journals reported that Schiff accurately predicted the crisis, while "nearly all [macroeconomists] failed to foresee the recession despite plenty of warning signs."

Peter has also worked in the political arena, first serving as an economic advisor for Ron Paul's 2008 presidential campaign and later running for United States Senate in Connecticut in 2010 as a Republican. Politically, he leans Libertarian, with an emphasis on fiscal conservatism.

Peter started SchiffGold in 2010 after recommending for decades that investors allocate 10-20% of their portfolios to physical precious metals. Peter became concerned that some of his Euro Pacific Capital clients were being misled into purchasing overpriced "numismatic" gold and silver products from gold dealers with unsavory business practices. Peter started SchiffGold to provide a trustworthy alternative that would sell only the most liquid physical bullion products at the lowest possible prices. SchiffGold is backed by Peter Schiff's Guarantee that it will only sell the most liquid physical bullion products at the lowest possible prices.

Peter's expertise on money, economic theory, and international investing makes him a highly sought after as a speaker and analyst. He has been quoted and interviewed hundreds of times by media outlets around the world, including The Wall Street Journal, Barron's, Die Zeit, Tokyo Shinbun, South China Morning Post, Investor's Business Daily, The Financial Times, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, and The Washington Post. He regularly appears on CNBC, CNN, CBC, Al Jazeera, Fox News, and Fox Business Network.

Peter Schiff's Companies

• Euro Pacific Asset Management – Founded in 2009, and headquartered in Dorado, Puerto Rico, Euro Pacific Asset Management is a SEC registered investment advisory firm. It specializes in foreign markets and utilizes a traditional value oriented investment strategy in keeping with Peter Schiff's investment strategy. Euro Pacific manages in excess of $1 billion in a combination of separately managed accounts and a family of proprietary mutual funds. These actively managed strategies provide investors with a long-term focus unique exposure to a variety of global markets.
• Euro Pacific Bank Ltd. – This offshore, international bank provides private investment services to non-US citizens. It is headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Peter Schiff's Books Crash Proof: How to Profit From the Coming Economic Collapse (2007) – Peter's first bestselling book predicted in detail the causes and fallout of what would become the 2008 financial crisis. He provides a long-term investment strategy that focuses on foreign markets and hard assets to protect one's wealth during years of economic uncertainty. The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets: How to Keep your Portfolio Up When the Market is Down (2008; Updated 2010) – In this followup to Crash Proof, Peter examined historic bear markets which followed major bull markets in the United States, and lays the foundation for a long-term investment strategy to preserve wealth during volatile times. Crash Proof 2.0: How to Profit From the Economic Collapse (2009) – The second edition of Peter's Crash Proof expands on the first edition by looking in detail at the fallout of the financial crisis he accurately predicted. How an Economy Grows and Why it Crashes (2010; Updated 2013) – Reimagining a classic economic parable written by their father, Peter and his brother Andrew Schiff use cartoon illustrations and humor to explain the healthy fundamentals of a free market economy. The Collector's Edition released in 2013 features new color illustrations and updated content explaining recent economic developments such as quantitative easing and the European debt crisis. The Real Crash: America's Coming Bankruptcy—How to Save Yourself and Your Country (2012) – Peter's latest bestseller explains why Peter believes the 2008 financial crisis was merely the prelude to a much larger crash to come. Paired with Washington's inability to address its sovereign debt problem, the Fed's reckless monetary policies will ultimately trigger a complete collapse of the US dollar as the world's reserve currency. Peter Schiff's Media

Peter is a regular guest on national and international financial media, including CNBC, Fox Business, BBC, Bloomberg Asia, and BNN. His economic commentary has been published in and quoted by The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, The Financial Times, Barron's, and Investor's Business Daily.

From 2005 to 2010, Peter hosted the short-wave radio show Wall Street Unspun, in which he commented on the latest financial market news. From 2010 to 2014, he hosted the nationally-syndicated The Peter Schiff Show, which filled the 10 AM time slot on the Radio America network starting in 2012. Peter left terrestrial radio in August 2014, though The Peter Schiff Show continues in a podcast format.

Peter's personal media outlets:

• Peter Schiff's Gold News – Peter's daily newsmagazine focused on the precious metals markets.
• The Schiff Report – The home of Peter's regular video blog on the financial markets, as well as clips from his recent media appearances. His economic forecasting went viral following the 2008 financial crisis with the video "Peter Schiff Was Right".
• The Peter Schiff Show – Peter's podcast featuring his commentary and analysis of the global financial markets.

Peter Schiff's Notable Appearances:

• Mortgage Banker's Speech – In 2006, Peter delivered a keynote address at the Western Regional Mortgage Bankers Conference in Las Vegas. He warned of a housing bubble and explained the basic mechanics of how a crash would occur. Practically nobody at the time shared Peter's viewpoint, and his speech stunned the more than 2,000 mortgage bankers in attendance. Of course, his prediction proved to be uncannily accurate, shooting Peter into the national spotlight as a savvy contrarian economist.
• Peter Schiff Was Right, 2006-2007 Edition – This compilation of Peter's mainstream media appearances in the years leading up to the housing crash and financial crisis became an instant viral hit (with millions of views spread over many versions of the video). As financial commentators laughed in his face, Peter calmly predicted the events of the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. It has become a classic example of irrational exuberance and willful ignorance on the part of economists and investment advisors.
• Daily Show Interview with Jon Stewart – Peter Schiff appeared on the Daily Show in 2009 to explain how he was able to predict the 2008 financial crisis. This brought Peter's warnings of the hazards of irresponsible monetary policy to a much wider American audience.
• Peter Schiff Visits Occupy Wall Street – Reason TV followed Peter Schiff to Manhattan's Zuccotti Park in 2011, where he represented the 1% in conversations with Occupy Wall Street protestors.
• Inflation Propaganda Exposed – For years, Peter Schiff has railed against the misleading and often incorrect economic data officially released by government agencies. In particular, Peter believes inflation is grossly underestimated. In this popular edition of his Schiff Report video blog, Peter debunks official inflation measures with a slew of hard, fundamental facts.