Dave Ramsey, personal finance guru and Ramsey Solutions CEO, spoke out on Friday’s implosion cryptocurrency exchange FTX.
Ramsey is a self-described personal money management expert and calls himself America’s trusted voice about money. He is the author seven of the most popular books in America, which have sold over 11 million copies.
Ramsey, a long-time crypto and bitcoin skeptic called Bitcoin “funny money” in December 2020. He also voiced doubts that bitcoin could be cashed out and advised investors to sell their coins immediately. He stated that crypto is entertainment and here to state, but should not be part of a portfolio.
Referring to his warning about crypto-currency, the self-described personal finance expert stated that he had told him so several times during Friday’s show. He was reminded:
The Bitcoin bros gave me so much crap… They’re like Mary Kay for young men… They don’t like to listen to anything. If you don’t do your thing, their brains will shut down.
Ramsey said that every time he advised against crypto, he was flooded with replies like, “I’m an idiot.” I’m a boomer. I’m out-of-touch. I don’t understand.’
Then he read a news article that compared FTX and its former CEO Sam Bankman Fried to the Enron scam and Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme. Last week, the cryptocurrency exchange filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy relief.
Ramsey stated that FTX is under criminal investigation in the Bahamas. The Bahamas securities regulator took action to block FTX’s cryptocurrency.
Ramsey exclaimed:
It’s straight-up thievery.
Ramsey continued by quoting some crypto proponents who had told him: “Dave, Boomer, when are you going to wake-up to this new and shiny wonderful, you don’t know what you’re talking about telling people not to do this? I’ve already made …’.”
Where is your money right now? It was taken by Mr. Fried.
It’s been all over the news in the past 48 hours. He said that this may be the largest fraud and theft in human history.
The personal finance guru expressed his disapproval for ‘overregulation’ of his money but admitted that he does like a little bit.
Ramsey concluded by saying:
Although I am sorry that you guys have lost your money, I told you not to do such things.
He stated, “I hate the spirit of this stuff and what its effects do to people because they get sucked in and then they get taken off their heads.”
A growing number of legislators have demanded stricter crypto regulation after the FTX crash. Although some analysts have raised concerns about contagion to the entire crypto industry, many remain optimistic about its future. El Salvador President said Thursday that his country would start buying BTC daily. Shark Tank star Mark Cuban stated that the FTX implosion was not a crypto-related disaster, while Tesla CEO Elon Musk claimed that bitcoin will make it. Jesse Powell Kraken CEO stated that the damage done here is severe. He plans to work for years to reverse this.