Soros Fund executives: The dollar is depreciating, Bitcoin is no longer a marginal asset (Update) -

Dawn Fitzpatrick, chief investment officer at Soros Fund Management, said yesterday that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are at an “inflection point” due in part to an increase in the U.S. money supply.

In an interview with Bloomberg on Thursday, Chief Investment Officer Dawn Fitzpatrick also mentioned that the investment fund founded by billionaire investor George Soros is also investing in cryptocurrency infrastructure.

Fitzpatrick added that Bitcoin is “interesting” and that it is no longer a “fringe asset.”

She said in an interview with Bloomberg that Soros Fund Management is currently interested in Bitcoin. Fitzpatrick said, "Crypto is at a very important moment because, something like Bitcoin may have been a fringe asset, but the fact is that the U.S. money supply has increased by 25% in the past 12 months, so people's concerns about the debasement of fiat currencies are real, which means that we have to look at Bitcoin in a different light."

Fitzpatrick cited the benefits of Bitcoin: it is "easy to store, easy to transfer, and it has a limited supply," and she noted that she believes Bitcoin has taken away some buying supporters from gold.

Chief Investment Officer Fitzpatrick would not say whether she had personally invested in the cryptocurrency, nor did she detail Soros Fund Management’s cryptocurrency investments.

Fitzpatrick’s theory about the debasement of fiat currencies is not new, and cryptocurrency investors often argue that a devalued dollar is a good reason to hold alternative assets.

MicroStrategy boss Michael Saylor is arguably the leader of the institutional investment boom. He often touts "safe haven assets" as better bets than fiat currencies. Last summer, MicroStrategy first entered Bitcoin and added the crypto asset to its balance sheet. Now, the company has invested $5 billion in Bitcoin.

Fitzpatrick went on to say that central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) will come “much sooner than people expect” and that China will lead the way.

CBDCs are digital versions of fiat currencies designed to make payments faster and more secure. Countries around the world are racing to design their own digital currencies, but China is ahead and is already piloting a digital yuan.

Meanwhile, the United States is still slowly researching a digital dollar. This month, Federal Reserve (FED) Chairman Jerome Powell said that the United States is not ready to make a decision on issuing a CBDC.

Fitzpatrick told reporters that this is "strategic" for China and could be a way to weaken the influence of Bitcoin. "They want their digital currency to be used around the world, which is a potential threat to Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies."

But she added that she did not think China would "succeed in permanently destabilizing Bitcoin."