The following are edited excerpts of Ric's conversation with SEC Commissioner Hester Peirce, which aired on Ric's radio show and podcast "The Truth About Your Future."
Peirce's comments are her own and not necessarily those of the Securities and Exchange Commission or other commissioners.
RIC EDELMAN: I'm assuming that you were like all of the rest of us, surprised at what happened to FTX.
HESTER PEIRCE: I think everyone was surprised. A lot of facts and circumstances remain uncertain.
We all know that crypto is a very risky asset class, but I'm not so sure that many people regarded that the place they're buying their crypto from was also risky. What's the takeaway that you would like to share with consumers?
I think that's a really important perspective because events like this are a reminder to people that you need to think about the full panoply of risks associated with assets. That includes the risk of the asset itself, and where and how you're going to hold that asset. Or are you going to hold it yourself, which you can do with crypto, or are you going to rely on someone else to hold that for you? And if so, what is it that they're allowed to do with that asset? And what are your safeguards if something goes wrong?
One of my criticisms of my own agency is that we haven't provided the clarity that would help people understand how entities are regulated at the federal level in the United States. I think that kind of clarity could be very helpful to investors.
