Soros Fund Management, the private investment firm of billionaire George Soros, is reportedly trading Bitcoin (BTC) as part of a broader exploration of digital assets, according to financial news website TheStreet.
People familiar with the matter told author Michael Bodley that Dawn Fitzpatrick, the chief investment officer for Soros Fund Management, gave the green light to trade Bitcoin and possibly other cryptocurrencies in the last few weeks. Speaking on condition of anonymity, the sources said Fitzpatrick and her team have been exploring cryptocurrencies for some time and that the latest venture is “more than just kicking the tires” on digital assets.
A spokesperson for Soros Fund Management was contacted by TheStreet but declined to comment.
Fitzpatrick is also reportedly in conversations about acquiring a private stake in leading blockchain-based enterprises, though the names of these companies weren’t provided. As Cointelegraph reported, Soros Fund Management was one of several firms behind the $200 million funding of New York Digital Investment Group, better known as NYDIG. MassMutual, Morgan Stanley and Stone Ridge Holdings Group also participated.
At the time, NYDIG co-founder and CEO Robert Gutmann said the investment round was evidence that institutional adoption of Bitcoin was on the rise.
TheStreet’s report has already circulated on Twitter, with several prominent industry voices joining the discussion.
George Soros has given his team the green light to trade bitcoin.
This could be a positive or a negative depending on how they trade it :)https://t.co/fq4LsE77gx
— Pomp (@APompliano) June 30, 2021
Related: Financial advisers lead the institutional push toward crypto adoption
It’s not entirely clear how Soros Fund Management intends to trade Bitcoin, if at all. An investment stake in the digital asset shouldn’t necessarily be viewed as bullish given that Soros earned his reputation for shorting the British pound in 1992 and effectively ‘breaking the Bank of England.’
Nevertheless, Fitzpatrick has spoken favorably about Bitcoin in recent months. In March, she said cryptocurrencies like BTC are at an “inflection point” that could catalyze greater adoption in the future.
“We’ve been making some investment into that infrastructure and we think that is at an inflection point,” she told Bloomberg in March.
