US investment fund Soros Fund Management, which currently operates about $26 bln in assets, will reportedly be investing in cryptocurrencies, despite the fact that the head of the fund George Soros earlier claimed that crypto is a “bubble”, Bloomberg reported Friday, April 6.
According to Bloomberg, citing people familiar with the matter, Adam Fisher, who is responsible for global macroeconomic investing at Soros Fund Management, has already received internal approval for cryptocurrency operations, but he has not started trading yet.
In a speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Jan. 25, Soros argued that cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin (BTC) cannot be considered currency due to their volatility, and that their value is speculative:
“Bitcoin is not a currency because a currency is supposed to be a stable store of value and the currency that can fluctuate 25% in a day can’t be used for instance to pay wages because wages drop by 25% in a day. It’s a speculation. Based on a misunderstanding.”
While criticizing the major cryptocurrency in January, the legendary macro trader did not provide any price predictions. Meanwhile, crypto markets have lost almost 50 percent by the end of the first quarter 2018.
Soros became involved in cryptocurrency activity earlier last year. In 2017, George Soros’ investment fund became the third-largest shareholder in Overstock.com, the first major retail company to accept Bitcoin as a payment option.
Launched in 1969, Soros Fund Management made its name in 1992 for its drastic bets against the British pound, which made Soros “The Man Who Broke the Bank of England."