Apple CEO invests in crypto, but company remains wary

Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed he has holdings in cryptocurrencies, but said that his iPhone-making company has no immediate plans to accept crypto payments.

“I wouldn’t go invest in crypto [for Apple], 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 said in an interview with CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin.

Cook stressed that his investment in crypto comes from a “personal point of view” and does not point to Apple embracing digital tokens any time soon.

He noted, however, that he finds cryptocurrencies “reasonable to own as part of a diversified portfolio.”

Cook’s words sparked a flood of Twitter comments, with crypto-enthusiasts saying that Apple should, in fact, start dealing in bitcoin and other tokens. MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor suggested that “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.”

So far, Apple couldn’t boast any crypto products or services. Earlier this year, however, the company posted a job offer for a crypto-expert for its payments department.

Cryptocurrencies rallied this week, with bitcoin smashing $68,000 a coin in an all-time high and ether also posting record gains on Monday. Bitcoin’s rally faded on Tuesday, but analysts suggest that buyers simply took some profits at Monday’s prices and expect a new rally by month’s end.

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