Bitcoin first ‘genuinely new asset class’ in 150 years, says Ric Edelman

Financial adviser, Ric Edelman says his colleagues need to get rid of their bias and examine Bitcoin and crypto assets with “open eyes” and “genuine curiosity.”

Ric Edelman, founder of financial advisory outfit Edelman Financial Engines, described Bitcoin (BTC) and crypto assets as a “completely new and different asset class” that has nothing in common with mainstream staples like stocks, bonds, real estate, oil, or commodities, to mention a few.

Speaking to Yahoo Finance on Wednesday, the financial adviser called Bitcoin and crypto “the first genuinely new asset class in about 150 years.” According to Edelman, not since the gold market has there been an innovative asset class like cryptocurrencies.

As part of the discussion, Edelman revealed that he was helping educate financial advisers about the need to be more open-minded about crypto as a viable portfolio diversifier.

Indeed, as previously reported by Cointelegraph, a recent survey by corporate research outfit Opinium showed that over 90% of 200 polled independent financial advisers in the United Kingdom were against crypto investments for their clients.

While not specifically reacting to the Opinium poll, Edelman characterized the reticence among independent financial advisers (IFAs) as being due to bias, stating:

“Most financial professionals have been in business a long time […] But the more experience, the more talent you have, the more difficult it is to get your head around Bitcoin.”

According to Edelman, given that portfolio diversification and rebalancing are popular strategies of IFAs, then BTC should be an obvious choice.

Related: Crypto and ‘meme stocks’ shunned by 90% of UK financial advisers

Edelman further argued that financial advisers need only look to the technological underpinnings of cryptocurrencies to see that cryptos are not in the same cadre as tulips or beanie babies.

For Edelman, crypto and blockchain technology, in general, is the “most impactful commercial innovation since the development of the internet itself.”

Back in 2019, the financial adviser remarked that a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund in the United States was an inevitability.