Gold and bitcoin bug opponent Peter Schiff says the US government’s actions in the past 78 years are partly responsible for the massive depreciation of the US dollar. Using a medical bill of 1942 to show the extent of the dollar’s decline, Schiff says the $ 70 paid for foot hospital costs that year was equal to two ounces of gold.
Dollar Depreciation
In 1942, an ounce of gold was sold for about $ 35 but due to inflation and the subsequent depreciation of the US dollar, the ounce is now selling for more than $ 1,750. Using this analogy, Schiff claims that the same bill per item for a seven-day hospital stay in New York in 1942 would equate to $ 3,700.
Nevertheless, despite properly apportioning the blame for the dollar’s depreciation to government inflation interventions, Schiff stubbornly refuses to accept that bitcoin, just like gold, is another store of value. Instead, the CEO of Euro Pacific Capital still believes that gold has a monopoly in value retention.
Dumping Gold for Bitcoin
In his December 11 tweets, Schiff, who supports free markets, is suing reports that private and public companies are unloading gold holdings in favor of bitcoin. The Twitter post states:
The latest bitcoin marketing gimmick is that many private and public companies are trading in their gold and accumulating bitcoin as their favorite form of value. Those few companies that buy bitcoin did not do it by selling their gold.
Schiff, who has already accused Grayscale and CNBC of conspiring to pump up the price of bitcoin, concludes his latest salvo with the claim that “bitcoin is not the new gold.”
However, despite frequent attacks by protesters, bitcoin continues to receive certifications from multiple institutional investors and billionaires. Since its launch 11 years ago, bitcoin has outperformed many other assets and in 2020 alone, digital gold has grown more than 100%.
On the other hand, Schiff’s gold, which reached an all-time high of $ 2,074 in August, has valued about 20% so far this year. Still, while bitcoin seems to be beating gold, Schiff is faceless as he continues his crusade against the digital asset.
What do you think of Schiff’s comments? Tell us what you think in the comments section below.
Image Credits: Shutterstock, Pixabay, Wiki Commons, Twitter, Peter Schiff, Gold Price