This is surely a scam. That protonmail name (adam smithen) sounds and stinks so scammy.
And I'm sure there is no loan. You will offer a loan
for a fee. And that fee must be paid upfront. Either that or you send a borrower a check (cheque for our Commonwealth friends) which shows an amount much higher than the agreed loan amount. The rationale behind this is the check is fake and it takes times for banks to clear them. In the meantime, the bank will allow the customer to tentatively use the amount shown on the check. American banks have this practice of letting their customers access funds on a yet to be cleared check. When this happens, you then tell your victim that you "accidentally" wrote a larger amount on the check and if he could please send the difference back by Western Union or bitcoin asap.
The scam is discovered only days or weeks or even months later when the check bounces or is found to be fake.
