In January, controversial Hungarian-American investor, business magnate, and political activist George Soros called cryptocurrencies a bubble. Now, he’s getting ready to trade them.
The Price is Right
As reported by Bloomberg, Soros Fund Management’s Adam Fisher has received internal approval to trade digital currencies, though insiders claim no trades have yet been made.
The news comes only a few months after the controversial business magnate spoke at the World Economic Forum in Davos in January, where he claimed cryptocurrencies are too volatile to function as viable currencies.
During that time, Soros also mentioned that Bitcoin is largely a tool for dictators to and wrongdoers, stating:
As long as you have dictatorships on the rise you will have a different ending, because the rulers in those countries will turn to Bitcoin to build a nest egg abroad.
Soros conveniently made his bearish comments shortly after the cryptocurrency market experienced all-time highs across the board.
Now, it appears as though his $26 billion family office has taken a liking to the collapsed cryptocurrency market — which currently features hardy discounts on almost every digital currency available for purchase.
However, it is worth noting that Soros has also already been covertly investing in cryptocurrency, having accumulated a sizeable stake in Overstock.com during Q4.
As reported by Bloomberg, Soros’ firm is the third-largest shareholder of the e-commerce company — which, in addition to notably becoming the first major retailer to accept digital currencies as a valid form of payment in August 2017, plans on starting its own cryptocurrency exchange and offering its own digital coins.
Soros infamously turned a $1 billion profit by shorting $10 billion worth of Pound sterling during the 1992 Black Wednesday currency crisis in the UK — earning him the moniker “Man Who Broke the Bank of England.” Ten years later, a French court found Soros guilty of insider trading and fined him 2.2 million euros.
Regardless of his financial dealings in the past, however, Soros’ newfound interest in currently low-priced cryptocurrency certainly signals that a wave of institutional investment money is on the horizon.
What do you think of George Soros’ FUD and subsequent interest in cryptocurrency trading? Do you think this news signals increased interest from institutional investors? Let us know in the comments below!
Images courtesy of CoinMarketCap, Overstock, Pexels