Mexico's third-richest man Ricardo Salinas Pliego says his bank is working to accept bitcoin

Founder and chairman of Grupo Salinas, Ricardo Salinas Pliego.

Carlos Alvarez/Stringer/Getty Images

• Mexico's third-richest man Ricardo Salinas Pliego said his bank is working to accept bitcoin.
• The billionaire said "fiat is a fraud" in a video tweeted by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.
• Bitcoin makes up 10% of his portfolio, Salinas Pliego revealed late last year.
• Sign up here for our daily newsletter, 10 Things Before the Opening Bell.

Mexican billionaire Ricardo Salinas Pliego said on Sunday that he advocates the use of bitcoin, and that his bank Banco Azteca is working on becoming the first in the Central American country to accept the cryptocurrency.

"Sure, I recommend the use of #Bitcoin, and me and my bank are working to be the first bank in Mexico to accept #Bitcoin," he said in a tweet responding to a post by MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.

Noted bitcoin bull Saylor had tweeted a video in which Salinas Pliego, the third-richest man in Mexico, took at shot at fiat currencies, saying "fiat is a fraud" and called them "stinky." He also said the "dollar as hard money is a joke."

Speaking in Spanish, Salinas Pliego said that after spending time studying bitcoin, he thinks every investor should include it in their portfolios.

He also cast doubt on ethereum's potential, given that there is currently no limit on the amount of ether issued. He said that "while they don't have a finite supply, I don't believe anything they do. For all I know, they emit more and your asset depreciates."

@michael_saylor

Salinas Pliego, who holds stakes in retail, banking, and broadcast businesses, is estimated to have a net worth of $15.8 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

When bitcoin was trading at around $18,000 in November last year, the Mexican billionaire revealed that the digital asset made up 10% of his portfolio. Bitcoin has risen around 95% since then, but is still down 45% from its peak in April. That's largely down to China expanding its crackdown on cryptocurrencies and a growing debate about bitcoin's environmental impact.

However, El Salvador's move to become the first country to make bitcoin legal tender has sparked some optimism among proponents of crypto.

Read More: The president of the development bank that's working with El Salvador to adopt bitcoin as legal currency breaks down how the world-first rollout will work - and told us 3 major hiccups he's worried about

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