Ric Edelman. (Photo: Melanie Waddell/ALM)
Most financial advisors are "fairly oblivious to blockchain" and "hesitant to invest client money in Bitcoin," but they shouldn't be, says Ric Edelman, founder of Edelman Financial Engines and of the RIA Digital Assets Council.
The open-source decentralized database, or ledger, is "the most important innovation since the introduction of the magnetic strip" used in credit card technology, Edelman said. The data is accessible and once verified cannot be changed, explained Edelman, who spoke at the Inside ETFs conference in Hollywood, Florida.
"Imagine a spreadsheet that anyone has access to and then everyone else verifies the data and once verified the data is frozen," Edelman said.
With verification, blockchain data can be trusted, which eliminates the need for intermediaries like title insurance companies, speeds up transactions and lowers costs, said Edelman. He expects blockchain will eliminate the "trust industry," ending the need for real estate agents, ticket resellers, etc., replacing it with its "authentication economy."
