Peter Schiff. Source: A screenshot of the video, Real Vision Finance/YouTube Bitcoin (BTC) skeptic Peter Schiff had problems with the traditional international banking system, giving BTC supporters the opportunity to tell him that his difficulties could have been avoided if he had used bitcoin. Schiff has become famous in the crypto world of Twitter, where he regularly takes the opportunity to troll BTC supporters, arguing with characters like Elon Musk. He turned to Twitter to complain that "despite no evidence of crimes," Puerto Rican "regulators" had "closed" his "bank account" for "equity issues," instead of allowing him to "make a sale." He added that he was a "highly qualified buyer" who had "promised to inject capital far exceeding" puerto Rican "regulatory minimums." Who is Peter Schiff? Schiff is an outspoken stockbroker and CEO of Euro Pacific Capital. He evangelizes buying gold as an investment strategy, but claims that BTC is a scam. In recent years it has also positioned itself as a broadcaster, launching a podcast of the same name.
According to the Associated Press, Schiff's Puerto Rican banking company, Euro Pacific International Bank, obtained an operating permit in 2017, but has since had problems after deposits fell to $150 million. The same media reported that two years ago, the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement, a government unit against tax crime and money laundering, intervened "to end the suspected facilitation of offshore tax evasion and money laundering." Schiff said his bank had never been investigated and said the only contact he had had with the institution was when "Internal Revenue Service agents visited the bank in 2020 and told them they were investigating customers." Schiff said last week that he would fight to save his struggling business. The closure of the bank account seems to be linked to these efforts. He also complained on Twitter, writing: "It costs a fortune to run a small bank. That's why I never made money. The costs of compliance are outrageous." An unexpected lesson on the benefits of Bitcoin Some bitcoiners responded simply by expressing their cheerfulness, while others joked: "Bitcoin solves this problem." One explained: "Regulators can't close or freeze your bitcoins." In addition to a large amount of emojis and LOL memes, there were also some more balanced responses. Swan Bitcoin International CEO Stephan Livera wrote: "In fairness, even bitcoin companies and bitcoiners can easily close their fiat bank accounts. But to completely deny the value of bitcoin at times like this, it only means burying your head in the sand. In a recent BTC-themed Twitter tirade, Schiff said that because bitcoin "whales" had "managed to raise" the coin "close to 70,000 USD, it was now "much easier for them to sell bitcoins at 20,000 USD, as the buyer thinks they are making a deal. He added: "These 'deal' hunters who have a downward average will eventually be known as bag holders." Sour words like these have alienated many bitcoiners, although many in the industry consider Schiff a harmless and sometimes funny eccentric.