Soros Fund Management’s chief executive and chief investment officer, Dawn Fitzpatrick, says cryptocurrency is here to stay and it’s already gone mainstream. She also believes that a recession is inevitable
CEO of Soros Fund: Crypto is here to stay
Dawn Fitzpatrick, Managing Director and Chief Investment Officer of Soros Fund Management, discussed cryptocurrency and the US economy in an interview with David Rubenstein, which aired Tuesday on Bloomberg. Soros Fund Management was founded in 1970 by George Soros and his former business partner Jim Rogers.
Fitzpatrick was asked about her view on crypto. Referencing Fidelity’s announcement to allow bitcoin investments in 401(k) retirement accounts, she replied:
It’s here to stay. I think it has become common.
The executive added: “The one caveat I would say is … climate impact is going to become increasingly focused so, in that context, I think ethereum is likely to gain some more traction over bitcoin.”
She also noted that “blockchain technology is going to have great applications.”
Fitzpatrick on the U.S. Economy and Recession
The Soros Fund Management chief shared her thoughts on reports that the U.S. economy shrank in the first quarter of this year. “When you look at that GDP number, I think the really important point is the reason it shrank is because of net imports, which were negative, which means we are importing a lot of goods from abroad. And that’s because consumer and corporate demand is robust. So I think there’s a silver lining in the reading of that GDP number,” she explained.
Responding to a question asking if she thinks a recession is coming, Fitzpatrick said:
There’s a lot of discussion about a looming recession and the bottom line is a recession is inevitable. It’s a matter of when.
Regarding high inflation and the Federal Reserve raising interest rates, the head of the Soros Fund said, “There is no doubt that interest rates will rise and the Fed will act very very quickly. That said, interest rates net of inflation are still negative, so monetary policy is still really easy.
She concluded: “I don’t think we’ll avoid a recession. I just think it will be further out than people expect.”
