‘Difficult, if not dangerous time’ to recommend crypto to clients, industry exec says
When it comes to crypto, financial professionals are “frustrated” as their firms look to stay out of regulators’ crosshairs, according to the founder of the Digital Assets Council of Financial Professionals (DACFP). Ric Edelman, who also founded Edelman Financial Engines, said regulatory uncertainty within the space — highlighted by SEC legal actions against crypto exchanges Coinbase and Binance last week — has reinforced that it is “a difficult, if not dangerous time” to recommend crypto to clients. “When you have the SEC engaging in such aggressive regulatory enforcement behavior, you don’t want to put yourself in a position to become the next target,” Edelman told Blockworks during an interview at the DACFP Vision conference in Austin, Texas. The number of advisers that own crypto is significantly higher than the ones who suggest such investments to clients — in part, he added, because of restrictions firms put on their financial pros. A January survey by Bitwise Asset M...