Apple CEO Tim Cook has expressed interest in the crypto space, revealing that he is actually a crypto investor himself. The 61-year-old tech mogul was speaking at the New York Times DealBook online conference when he voiced his opinions on cryptocurrencies. While maintaining that Apple has nothing to do with his personal outlook, Cook said that he has been interested in and researching on the crypto space for some time now. The Apple chief also said that the company has no immediate plans on crypto-integration as of now.
Unlike Elon Musk's Tesla, Apple will not be using its treasury to buy cryptocurrencies, Cook said while dismissing the idea of accepting crypto coins via Apple Pay anytime soon.
“It's something we are looking at, it's not something we have immediate plans to do. I would characterise it as there are things that I would not do like our cash balance,” Cook said. “I don't think people buy Apple stock to get exposure to crypto. So if they want to do that, they can you know, invest directly in crypto through other means,” he added.
A video clip of the Apple chief's interview with NYT journalist Andrew Ross Sorkin has been making the rounds on Twitter.
The Apple boss said it is reasonable to own cryptocurrency as part of a diversified portfolio. This is the first time that Cook has spoken on cryptocurrencies in public.
Meanwhile, Apple's work around cryptocurrencies has been in the news since 2019.
In September 2019, Jennifer Bailey, the Vice President of Apple Pay had revealed that the iPhone-maker is being attentive towards the crypto space and sees cryptocurrencies as assets with “interesting long term potential”, as per a CNN report.
Presently, Apple does not offer any cryptocurrency-based products and services nor does it accept crypto payments.
Crypto wallet apps are available on its App Store, where crypto-mining apps are prohibited for now.
On an international level, the crypto market is witnessing a rapid expansion. Earlier this week, the overall valuation of the crypto market reached $3.007 trillion (roughly Rs. 2,22,79,296 crore), as per market research tracker, CoinGecko.
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