 By September 16, 1992, the day of Black Wednesday, Soros's fund had sold short more than $10 billion in pounds, profiting from the UK government's reluctance to either raise its interest rates to levels comparable to those of other European Exchange Rate Mechanism countries or float its currency.Finally, the UK withdrew from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, devaluing the pound.Soros's profit on the bet was estimated at over $1 billion.