Peter Schiff Admits Mistake in Losing Bitcoin - Still Seems Bitter Jonathan Ganor 2020-01-23 12:02:56 594 views

Will Schiff Ever Change His Mind About Bitcoin?

Peter Schiff is a known economist, libertarian and gold evangelist. He is known in the world of Bitcoin for his participation in cryptocurrency conferences in which he criticizes the concept. Schiff along with fellow economist, Nouriel Roubani are seen to some as "haters" who do not truly grasp or like the concept of peer-to-peer digital cash or digital gold.

This might be somewhat in part due to Schiff's business, Schiffgold in which he buys and sells gold. Oddly enough, on Shiffgold users can purchase gold and silver with Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash and Ethereum via Bitpay.

Schiff and the Bitcoin Wallet Fiasco

Earlier this week Schiff sent out a tweet in which he claimed to have lost all of his bitcoin holdings. Schiff oddly claimed that his wallet managed to get corrupted and that his password is no longer valid. He seemingly blamed Bitcoin for his error claiming: "I knew owning Bitcoin was a bad idea, I just never realized it was this bad!". Many big influencers in the cryptocurrency field rushed to try to comment. Anthony "Pomp" Pompliano, of Morgan Creek Digital and others have pointed out that he likely forgot his password.

Translation: You forgot your password?



Same thing happens to your email if youâre irresponsible and forget your password, Peter ð¤·ð½âââ â Pomp ðª (@APompliano) January 19, 2020

Schiff remained headstrong claiming that he did not forget password but rather his wallet was corrupted. He repeated those claims several times It seems that his stubbornness caused many to poke fun at him with many commenting "ok boomer".

It was later revealed that Schiff was using a Blockchain.com wallet. Shapeshift's CEO, Erik Voorhees apparently set up the wallet for him at a cryptocurrency conference. Schiff was sent Bitcoin by cryptocurrency fans in attempt to warm him up to the technology. Blockchain.com's support staff tweeted to Peter a few times in an attempt to resolve the issue.

It is unknown if Schiff ever tried to resolve the issue with blockchain.com's support staff.

Schiff's Bitcoin Password Conundrum Solved

In the following days after his initial tweet, Schiff continued to lament over his lost bitcoin while also claiming it is worthless. His tweets seemed very much like a "sour grapes" scenario. He claimed that he lost his Bitcoin life savings due to a glitch and posted a Sesame Street video that claimed buying Bitcoin is like buying air.

After so easily losing my entire #Bitcoin life-savings to a computer glitch I feel like Ernie at the end of my video. https://t.co/YCtjGYJE3l â Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 19, 2020

After several days of denial, Schiff finally realized what had occurred. He admitted that he had mistook his pin for his password. After the Blockchain.com wallet updated it required his password which he had forgotten. To make things worse Schiff did not record his recovery seed anywhere.

My #Bitcoin mystery is solved. I mistook my pin for my password. When Blockchain updated their app I got logged out. I tired logging back in using my pin, which was the only "password" I had ever known or used. I also never had a copy of my seed phrase. Honest but costly mistake! â Peter Schiff (@PeterSchiff) January 23, 2020

Unfortunately for Schiff it seems that he was never able to recover his Bitcoin. One would hope that Voorhees emphasized the importance of keeping his seed safe, but it is also possible that Schiff disregarded advice.

Satoshi Nakamoto, Bitcoin's creator had a brilliant quote on people losing Bitcoin by error. He famously said: "Lost coins only make everyone else's coins worth slightly more. Think of it as a donation to everyone."

How Not to Lose Your Bitcoin Like Peter Schiff

Use a high security wallet for large amounts such as life savings in Bitcoin. Ideally a cold storage wallet would be preferable although paper wallets would also suffice.

Mobile wallets might be very convenient but can be a security risk. If you are using a mobile wallet keep your seed stored in a few different secure locations on paper and not on your phone. Never store a large amount or majority of your holdings on your phone. Also consider using a wallet that has a social restore function such as HTC Exodus' built in wallet.

Last but not least don't give in to defeatism. If you have lost Bitcoin, try to recover the password. Give multiple attempts a try so you can possibly brute force your own password. It could help recover your loss.

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