This week the media outlet RT published a new Keiser Report from the Freedom Fest 2017 conference in Las Vegas with host Max Keiser. During the report, Keiser talks with the economist and long time 'gold bug' Peter Schiff about the decentralized currency bitcoin. Schiff says he understands that people want an alternative to the current monetary system but believes an alternative to fiat will not be cryptocurrency or what he calls "digital fiat."

Peter Schiff is a well-known economist, precious metals proponent, and a person who doesn't like cryptocurrencies at all. Max Keiser discussed the global economy, Trump, and the Federal Reserve with Schiff at the Freedom Fest event held in Las Vegas last month. Then the two further delve into a conversation about the rise of bitcoin and Schiff gives great detail into why he doesn't favor this technology. Schiff believes bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are merely representations of digital fiat.

"Our monetary system is based on faith because there's nothing real behind dollars or euros, and it's just based on the fact that you believe people are going to want it," explains Schiff. "Other than that, the other thing currencies have is that governments accept it or require it for payment of taxes. So if you live in America, the IRS wants your taxes, and you better send them dollars. That's what they accept there, and there is a natural demand for dollars to stay out of jail.

[Bitcoin] is the same concept. It's being created but there is no real value in bitcoin it's all based on faith. If somebody doesn't want your bitcoin there's nothing you can do with it right?   

Of course Max Keiser a long time cryptocurrency advocate disagrees with Schiff and says that a lot of millennials believe bitcoin is a form of 'digital gold.' Keiser tells Schiff as a business person he should be on board with this trend or otherwise he's ignoring an entire market.

"They are wrong," Schiff tells Keiser. "The people that are using it [Bitcoin] are using it as a speculative asset. I talked to a guy today who showed me his cryptocurrency portfolio, and he had like $50,000 — I asked him have you ever spent any? He said "no," and he's never used it in commerce — He's speculating on it, and he owns it as an 'asset.'"