While its reputation as a commodity has improved, the crypto space remains fraught with fraudulent actors. Salzer says to mitigate risks, he avoids the venture exchange, which he likens to mining and prospecting. There may be shiny outlooks within this space, but Salzer says the risks are far too high to expose his clients to an area of the sector which is often unreliable.
“People love greed and fear, and the greed part brings fraud. Just because you own Bell Canada or Royal Bank stock for your grandmother doesn’t mean you should hold some flyer on the Venture Exchange. And staying away from the Venture Exchange is probably a good idea. It doesn’t mean you should avoid all stocks, but maybe you don’t want the speculative ones with high probabilities of fraud,” he said. “Because it’s a commodity, you just buy it and sell it yourself. So it’s Buyer beware. And what we learned is we don’t have our clients exposed to any of those areas outside of Bitcoin.”
By developing close relationships with some of the largest names in the Bitcoin sector, Salzer says that Northland has been able to ensure that it provides its clients with secure and profitable Bitcoin options. He says his years-long research and close contact with major players in the industry allows him to understand Bitcoin that goes beyond the surface level.
“Northland’s network are the professionals meeting with Donald Trump and Scott Bessent and advising them on the strategic Bitcoin reserve. That’s our due diligence, those are our network professionals,” he said. “That’s very, very different than somebody at a brokerage firm or advisory firm just saying, ‘oh, I read this piece in the news, or I went to Bitcoin.com.’”
Salzer points to crypto regulation in Canada as a strong point in the industry, with the first Bitcoin ETF launched in Canada. He says this has allowed for a smoother due diligence process, as there is high transparency in the market.
