Tim Cook silences rumours about enabling crypto

Apple CEO Tim Cook said the tech giant had no immediate plans to accept cryptocurrency, thereby putting an end to rumours about potentially enabling cryptos into products like Apple Pay and Apple Card, Coin Rivet reported. At The New York Times DealBook conference, he commented that the company had no intention to start accepting crypto, adding that there were other things Apple was ‘definitely looking at’.

No plans to adopt crypto despite owning it

Cook said he believed NFTs were an interesting part of the market, but added:

He repeated that he had some investments in cryptocurrency, but insisted there were no plans to invest Apple’s cash in the digital assets. Earlier this month, he told DealBook’s Andrew Ross Sorkin he owned crypto, adding that he felt it was reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio. However, he made it clear that his endorsement of cryptocurrencies was not “investment advice”.

A slow starter

Apple’s CEO also said that the corporation had no plans to purchase Bitcoin (BTC/USD) with its estimated $200 billion cash reserves. Many consider Apple a slow starter in getting on the crypto bandwagon as quite a few other companies in the industry, such as Venmo, PayPal, or Square, already support a number of crypto features.

Both eBay and Amazon have expressed an interest in accepting digital assets in the near future.

AR remains Apple’s core business

In response to a question about Meta’s metaverse aims, Apple’s CEO stated that augmented reality (AR) remained a core technology for the company. They may launch their new mixed reality headset as soon as next year.

Apple offers no crypto services

Apple does not allow mining apps, nor does it have any cryptocurrency services or products. However, crypto wallet apps are allowed on the App Store.  

Changes in the future?

We may see some changes in their policy on crypto moving forward. In 2019, Apple Pay vice president Jennifer Bailey said cryptocurrency had ‘long-term potential’ and hinted they might add crypto to the mobile wallet.