In the event that the regulators in Puerto Rico let it, Peter Schiff claims he will sell his bank, Euro Pacific, for bitcoin. “My bank wasn’t placed in receivership because it was bankrupt. It was placed there because it was undercapitalized, according to the bitcoin critic.
Peter Schiff claims to be open to trading his bank for bitcoin.
Gold enthusiast and a bitcoin skeptic Peter Schiff is still attempting to sell Euro Pacific, his bank. But because of its “crass noncompliance with the minimal capital requirements,” his bank’s activities have been put on hold by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions of Puerto Rico, better known as the OCIF.
Schiff asserts that the bank already has a buyer lined up, but the regulator won’t allow him to sell it.
He was questioned on Twitter on Friday about his willingness to trade his bank for bitcoin. The answer from Schiff, a vociferous opponent of bitcoin, was “Actually yeah, I would sell the bank for anything if regulators allowed me sell it.”
For the sake of all the bank’s clients, he emphasized, “I am dedicated to working with the Puerto Rico banking commissioner to rectify the capital difficulties with my bank.”
Since the Puerto Rican regulator banned his bank, Schiff has tweeted often about the issue.
He has insisted that there is no proof of criminal activity at the bank and noted that consumers could immediately withdraw all of their money if the Commissioner would just authorize the transaction.
In a tweet on Friday, Schiff clarified: “My bank was not placed into receivership due to being bankrupt. It was placed there because it was undercapitalized, not because it lacked capital. My bank has $2 million in capital, no loans or debt, and enough cash on hand to fully repay all depositors. The purchaser has to contribute $7 million in capital.
Since 2014, he has begun taking bitcoin at Schiffgold, another business he controls. The business also takes a variety of other cryptocurrencies through Bitpay, according to its website.
Even though Schiff will take bitcoin for his bank, he persisted in criticizing the digital money. Also on Friday, he tweeted:
With bitcoin you don’t have to worry about your bank being closed, you just have to worry about your bitcoin crashing in market value.
