Financial tycoons enter the market! Soros family office reportedly starts trading Bitcoin

Some of the hedge fund industry’s biggest names are diving deeper into cryptocurrencies. Billionaire George Soros’ family office has begun trading Bitcoin, according to people familiar with the matter.

Additionally, Steve Cohen’s Point72 Asset Management is looking to hire a head of cryptocurrency operations.

Spokespeople for both companies declined to comment on the rumors.

Point72 has previously announced to investors that it is exploring investments in the cryptocurrency space through its flagship hedge fund or private investment arm. It is unclear what the new cryptocurrency positions will involve.

Sources said that Dawn Fitzpatrick, chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management, has approved traders to start building Bitcoin positions in recent weeks. As early as 2018, there were reports that the company was preparing to invest in cryptocurrencies, but it had not yet taken action. At that time, Fitzpatrick gave the green light to Adam Fisher, head of macro investment at Soros Fund Management, to trade virtual currencies, but Fisher left the company in early 2019.

In an interview in March this year, Fitzpatrick said that Bitcoin is interesting and that the company has been investing in crypto infrastructure such as exchanges, asset managers and custodians.

Fitzpatrick said in the interview that people's "real concerns about the debasement of fiat currencies" are driving demand for cryptocurrencies. "Bitcoin, I don't think of it as a currency - I think of it as a commodity," easy to store and transfer, and with a limited supply, she said. But she declined to say whether she owns Bitcoin.