Billionaire George Soros’ investment fund has had its eye on bitcoin for a while now. Bitcoinist had reported in July that the fund was looking to start trading bitcoin. It would not be the first time the company was getting into the crypto market but it is the first time that the fund has traded in the digital asset directly. Bitcoin was at the top of its list. However, the fund had its eye on other crypto-assets in the space.
Soros Fund CEO Dawn Fitzpatrick has now confirmed that the investment firm had indeed begun trading in cryptocurrencies. Speaking on Bloomberg Live, Fitzpatrick said that the Soros Fund had invested in some cryptocurrencies. Apparently, the fund had bought some coins in the past month, but Fitzpatrick explained that the fund did not own a lot of cryptos. “We own some coins. Not a lot.” Fitzpatrick said.
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The CEO’s fund had actually started looking into the cryptocurrency market for over two years. The following years have seen the fund invest in crypto infrastructure companies like exchanges and custodians. The family office had participated in an investment round that had raised $200 million for New York Digital Investment Group.
It wasn’t until the bull rally of 2021 that the fund had confirmed that it was looking to start trading in bitcoin. It was not revealed what cryptocurrencies the fund held in its custody but it is confirmed that the firm is trading bitcoin.
BTC price trailing $54K | Source: BTCUSD on TradingView.com
Hedging With Bitcoin
Bitcoin is often used as a hedge against inflation. Investors have turned to the digital asset due to its year-over-year growth compared to the current inflation rate. Fitzpatrick acknowledged that the crypto could be used as an inflation hedge, but thinks that the asset has grown beyond just this use case. “I’m not sure Bitcoin is only viewed as an inflation hedge here,” Fitzpatrick said. “I think it’s crossed the chasm to mainstream.”
Another interesting point from the CEO was the utility of the decentralized finance space. While the fund itself owns some coins, Fitzpatrick says that what is really interesting are use cases like decentralized finance (DeFi). The applications of crypto and blockchain technology have gone just beyond trading in coins. It is now a vehicle for earning passive income for a lot of investors.
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Furthermore, Fitzpatrick added, with the current valuation of the crypto market, the fund did not believe that bitcoin can be relegated to the background anymore. If anything, crypto is now mainstream.
“Cryptocurrencies now have a market cap of over $2 trillion. There’s 200 million users around the world, so I think this has gone mainstream from our perspective.”
Featured image from Corporate Finance Institute, chart from TradingView.com
