While the dramatic story of the firm’s failure is far from over, according to financial advisers, it is post-FTX in the crypto world and the biggest takeaways for investors are already clear. First things first: do your homework on crypto and figure out if it fits your goals. If you decide to continue buying it after that, learn how to keep it safe. “Investors need to distinguish between blockchain technology and exchanges,” said Daren Blonsky, principal at Sonoma Wealth Advisors. “The two get mixed up and it creates a lot of problems.” As cryptocurrency prices take another leg down in an already bad year, crypto skeptics are jumping on the “told you so” bandwagon as it refutes arguments about using the cryptocurrency as a store of value. Meanwhile, cryptocurrency believers are doubling down on their bets that it is the future of money and finance. However, there is a huge gray area among those who are wondering what to do now that new entrants to the cryptocurrency market have bought into this or that cryptocurrency story. Here’s what advisors have to say about it: Whatever you do, don’t put your crypto on exchanges There’s a sweet mantra in crypto: “Not your keys, not your coins.” This means that your crypto isn’t really yours unless you store the “private keys” – or the cryptographic password that allows someone to transact with the crypto and prove they own it. “We beat the table by telling customers that,” Blonski said. “I have money in exchanges, but I know that money is always at risk. It’s an option because it’s more comfortable on some levels, but I sure don’t keep my bitcoin in exchanges.” Consumers often give up some security or privacy in exchange for convenience – this is broader than cryptocurrency and is one point in the movement towards a decentralized Web 3 world. But as cryptocurrency becomes more popular and centralized companies provide easy exits, advisers agree: it’s time for investors to learn to take control of their funds. Tyrone Ross Jr., president and founder of 401 Financial, told CNBC that colleagues in the advisory community have asked him for guidance on how to move their funds out of the stock market. “What does it mean to keep your assets in your own wallet and protect them from theft? Ross said. “If your stuff is on Coinbase, it’s like the best house in a bad neighborhood. We’re trying to educate people, and the only way to help them right now is to get them to keep their cryptocurrencies. That’s the hardest part.” FTX shouldn’t change your thesis, but even if you value cryptocurrencies, FTX his failure shouldn’t have changed him. Ross said he believes there has only ever been one “non-controversial” use case for bitcoin that “continues to disappear”: serving those outside the formal financial system. “Every day that the Bitcoin blockchain survives, people there is financial opportunity on a global scale, and by voting for the token you do by buying bitcoin, you’re putting your money behind a global monetary system that anyone can transact anywhere,” he said. Bitcoin was originally intended as a digital cash. Bulls have long argued that its best use is as a hedge against inflation or believed to be a safe haven in times of uncertainty r. This year, bitcoin’s chart movements have been more consistent with the ups and downs of stocks. As historically high inflation continues, bitcoin has continued to fall and even hit a two-year low last month. One of the most prominent qualities of Bitcoin is that different narratives cater to different types of investors. Ross likened the technology to airlines, suggesting that investors should only view bitcoin as an investment. “We need them, it’s the most incredible piece of technology,” he said. “People are putting money behind it. You buy airline tickets, people buy airline stocks, people invest in snack providers and everything on the plane because we all use it, it’s a great technology for civilization. Bitcoin will be the same way.” Wall Street understands this well. Rather than predicting the end of cryptocurrency, analysts warn of long-term stagnation in trading volumes and low prices, but ultimately see it “matching the Internet craze of the 1990s.” JPMorgan even covers cold storage stocks of cryptocurrencies and predicts that at least one will more than double in price after the FTX collapse. Last week, several analysts warned that the near-term outlook for cryptocurrency prices was bleak and would affect trading revenues and companies like Coinbase and Robinhood, not to mention increased regulatory scrutiny targeting the industry. Stay away from derivatives This week, the CFP Board warned advisers offering cryptocurrency advice to do so “with caution” because the young asset class presents “significant risks and uncertainties that require careful analysis.” When asked about this, advisers who spoke to CNBC reiterated that the crashes in the market this year (FTX now, but the Terra project before that in the spring) stemmed from the asset’s safety, not its value. “It’s up to advisors to understand what’s going on before they make some kind of judgment about it,” said Adam Blumberg, co-founder of Interaxis, a cryptocurrency education and training company for financial advisors. “If they’re a fiduciary, even if they hate crypto, it’s up to them to understand what’s going on and explain to clients how it affects the price and why it changes their investment thesis — and not use it as an opportunity to go, ‘I see’ “Bitcoin has a long way to go. However, the user experience is still not easy and often leads investors to products that are more convenient and convenient for them, but with higher risks. “I have a hard time getting a lot of clients into cryptocurrencies at the investment level, at the fiduciary level, at the advisory level — not because I don’t trust the blockchain, but because the products that are readily available are any underlying derivatives,” said Sonoma’s Blonsky. Sonoma Wealth won’t touch on derivatives, but hopes that the SEC will soon “do a statutory review” and approve a spot bitcoin ETF, Blonsky added. “Besides: not your keys, not your bitcoin, it’s our professional opinion,” he said. “The market is not mature enough, we need transparency and clarity there is not, and the SBF incident proved it to us.”