‘I Guess I’ll Have to Hodl It’ — Peter Schiff Admits to Having Bitcoin

Veteran gold bug and bitcoin (BTC) skeptic Peter Schiff has accepted delivery of $1,350 worth of the cryptocurrency after the industry sent him donations on July 4.

Schiff, who is well known for warning investors not to trust bitcoin as a replacement for gold, triggered the goodwill gestures after becoming the topic of a Twitter debate with Morgan Creek Digital co-founder, Anthony Pompliano.

Pompliano (also known as Pomp), highlighted the fact that Schiff does in fact own some BTC despite his negative comments. 

Schiff responded that the BTC was a token amount given as a gift - just $100 - after which Pompliano requested his BTC address in order to double it. 

Others subsequently followed suit. At press time Friday, Schiff’s wallet contained a balance of $1,350 (0.124 BTC) after 52 transactions. 

The SchiffGold CEO thanked Pompliano and others when his balance still totalled just $130.

“I guess I'll have to hodl it and go down with the ship,” he said.

Those comments ran in stark contrast to his infamous recent exchanges with bitcoiners and an appearance on a live debate with ‘The Bitcoin Standard’ author, Saifedean Ammous. 

“It doesn't matter how high the price of Bitcoin rises unless you sell. Every buyer must eventually sell to realize any benefit from the rise,” he wrote about Bitcoin’s current bull run last week.

Signs Schiff is in fact not entirely anti-Bitcoin, meanwhile, have been evident for some time. Schiff Gold, for example, even offers it as a payment method.