A Commitment to Bitcoin with Ric Edelman

Today on the podcast we are joined by Ric Edelman, the founder and chairman of Edelman Financial Engines and author of The Truth About Your Future. We also have our very own Cathie Wood join us for the conversation as we look at the current state of bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, a decade after they emerged into the public imagination. We hear from Ric about his early theoretical and then practical interactions with bitcoin, his ongoing belief in the platform, its limitations and what its future may look like. Cathie also weighs in on ARK’s initial relationship with bitcoin and how cryptocurrencies informed the formation of the company. We discuss bitcoin’s strengths and weaknesses, who can most benefit from its unique characteristics at present and the advantages that would emerge with the involvement of the SEC. Tune in to hear this engaging discussion on what we believe to be one of the decade’s defining technologies! Key Points From This Episode: How Ric Edelman became involved in cryptocurrencies originally and his continuing philosophy. Cathie’s own ‘aha’ moment and early engagement with bitcoin in 2011. The uncertainty that still surrounds bitcoin’s and other cryptocurrencies’ future. Bitcoin’s transaction handicap and the other cryptocurrencies solving these problems. What this evolving conversation means to the work of financial advisors. Ric’s own approach to advising clients on investing in bitcoin. The reasons why Ric and his firm are not yet fully recommending bitcoin to average clients. Limitations and regulation in the cryptocurrency space and the practical effects of these. The power of educated and informed investors making sensible, individual decisions. Tokenization and what is next for bitcoin and the crypto sphere. Why Ric is really excited about the prospect of a ’40 Act product being released.   Tweetables: “The exposure to Bitcoin back in 2012 was still very new. It had only been invented a couple of years earlier, and there were more questions than answers about what it was.” — @ricedelman  “I made my first investment of bitcoin in early 2014, and I’ve been buying ever since. I’ve never sold any holding that I have in digital assets.” — @ricedelman “Part of the problem is that Americans tend to be slow adapters, partly because we have the strongest currency in the world, because we have the strongest economy in the world, the most stable financial structure in the world.” — @ricedelman