Tim Cook, CEO of the giant Apple, admitted that he has invested some of his substantial earnings in cryptocurrencies. He also said that everyone should look at crypto with interest.
Summary
Tim Cook and cryptocurrencies for a diversified portfolio
This is the first time the CEO of the Cupertino-based company has spoken specifically about cryptocurrencies. When asked if he owned cryptocurrencies in his portfolio, Cook replied:
“I do. I think it’s reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio”.
The interview also discussed the company’s possible plans related to cryptocurrency payments, perhaps with the Apple Pay payments system. Cook did not rule it out at all, adding that:
“We’re looking at that.”
He did, however, rule out the possibility of Apple doing the same as Tesla and investing directly in cryptocurrencies, but only as a form of absolute protection for shareholders and investors:
“I wouldn’t go invest in crypto, not because I wouldn’t invest my own money, but because I don’t think people buy Apple stock to get exposure to crypto”.
Cook, prompted by the interviewer, also talked about NFTs, which he considers to be a very interesting market, but which will probably need some more time to become mainstream.
These statements by Cook have clearly attracted the attention of the entire crypto world. Michael Saylor, CEO of Microstrategy, the largest investor in Bitcoin in the world (around 48 billion dollars) responded with a tweet that clearly seemed like a suggestion for the company, one that was not too disinterested.
If @Apple were to add support for #Bitcoin to the iPhone and convert their treasury to a Bitcoin Standard, it would be worth at least a trillion dollars to their shareholders. $AAPLhttps://t.co/her5b6vhEB
— Michael Saylor⚡️ (@saylor) November 9, 2021
The vice president of Apple Pay had already spoken about crypto
The fact that Apple Pay, the company’s proprietary digital payments app, is thinking about cryptocurrencies is something that has been known for some time.
In September 2019, Jennifer Bailey, vice president of the app, had specifically mentioned cryptocurrencies during an interview.
“We think they are interesting, we think they have interesting long-term potential”.
Apple and cryptocurrencies
Last June, the company also placed a job advertisement for a cryptography expert, which expressly called for expertise in cryptocurrencies.
Many had linked this news to the company’s plans to accept cryptocurrency payments via its digital payments app.
In July, rumours circulated on the main social networks that Apple had invested $2.5 billion in cryptocurrencies. But the news has not been confirmed by the company. Tim Cook’s own words seem to refute it categorically.