Peter Schiff says he will sell his bank, Euro Pacific, for bitcoin if the Puerto Rican regulators let him sell it. “My bank was not put into receivership for being insolvent. It was put there for being under-capitalized,” the bitcoin skeptic said.
Peter Schiff Says He’s Ready to Sell His Bank for Bitcoin
Bitcoin skeptic and gold bug Peter Schiff is still trying to sell his bank, Euro Pacific. However, Puerto Rico’s Commissioner of Financial Institutions, also known as Oficina del Comisionado de Instituciones Financieras (OCIF), has suspended its bank’s operations due to its “flagrant non-compliance with minimum capital requirements”. .
Schiff claims that he already has a buyer for the bank lined up but the regulator will not let him sell it.
On Friday, he was asked on Twitter if he was ready to sell his bank for bitcoin. Schiff, who has been a vocal bitcoin skeptic, replied, “Actually, yes, I would sell the bank for anything if the regulators let me sell it.”
“I am committed to working with the Puerto Rico banking Commissioner to resolve the capital issues with my bank for the best interest of all the bank’s customers,” he stressed.
Schiff has constantly tweeted about his bank’s situation since it was suspended by the Puerto Rican regulator.
He has maintained that there is no evidence of crime at the bank, noting that if the Commissioner would just approve the sale, customers can withdraw all their money now.
Schiff clarified in a tweet on Friday: “My bank has not gone into receivership for insolvency. It was put there to be undercapitalized, to have no capital. My bank has approximately $2 million in capital, no debt, no loans, and enough cash to repay all depositors in full. The buyer was to add $7 million in capital.
Schiffgold, another company he owns, has been accepting bitcoin since 2014. According to its website, the company also accepts a number of other cryptocurrencies through Bitpay.
While he will accept bitcoin for his bank, Schiff has continued to criticize the cryptocurrency. He also tweeted on Friday:
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.
