By
Temitope Olatunji
April 18th, 2024
Soros Fund Management is also in talks about the acquisition of small blockchain-based firms as approved by the CIO.
Soros Fund Management, the second hedge fund founded by billionaire investor George Soros has reportedly commenced Bitcoin trading. First reported by The Street’s journalist Michael Bodley, citing people familiar with the matter, the new Bitcoin (BTC) trading service was greenlighted by the company’s Chief Investment Officer Dawn Fitzpatrick. While the details of the nature of trading are yet to be known, the sources gave an inclination that these trading services are “more than just kicking the tires” on digital assets.
The embrace of digital assets has spiked in the past year, and the race to meet with demands has stirred the introduction of products and services to capture the burgeoning market. Both retail and institutional investors are betting big on digital currencies, a trend that is fast stretching beyond investments in Bitcoin and Ethereum (ETH).
A number of businesses, hedge funds, and service providers are now continually pitching new ways to capture the growing market. While the report has not yet been substantiated by the firm, the move has shown that Wall Street players are exploring core engagements with digital assets. Speculations have it that the firm’s purported Bitcoin trading service is beyond the usual investment or stack up of the premier digital currency.
Soros Funds Bitcoin Move Also Features Blockchain-based Acquisition Deal
The report also highlighted that Soros Fund Management is also in talks about the acquisition of small blockchain-based firms as approved by CIO Fitzpatrick. The names of these startups are not yet known, neither is the detail of the proposed offers. Soros Fund Management has been recently active in backing cryptocurrency service providers in terms of funding. Coinspeaker reported earlier that the firm participated in the past funding round of New York Digital Investment Group (NYDIG), and thanks to the backing, NYDIG is set to bring crypto services to over 24 million customers with the backing of 650 American banks.
Major institutional investors including business intelligence and software firm, MicroStrategy Incorporated (NASDAQ: MSTR), electric automaker Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA), and payment service provider Square Inc (NYSE: SQ), and others are also backing the digital currency ecosystem by keeping Bitcoin on their balance sheets. While the market has generally retraced, owing to some bearish fundamentals, major financial market players like Soros Funds are taking a position to gain a headstart in the future that many Bitcoin proponents believe will herald a massive embrace across all levels.
The dive into the Bitcoin trading niche by Soros Fund has attracted comments on key proponents in the Bitcoin ecosystem. One of such, Anthony Pompliano noted that the move can either be good for the industry or a bad one depending on how the firm trades the digital currency.
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
Soros Fund Management has about $28 Billion Assets Under Management. No financial projects to the Bitcoin trading deal was reported.