Apple CEO Tim Cook talks cryptocurrency future
The world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, hit an all-time high of $68,525.84 per coin hit on Monday
Investopedia.com editor-in-chief Caleb Silver shares survey results weighing investor trust in cryptocurrency.
Apple CEO Tim Cook says that while the tech giant is looking into cryptocurrencies, there are no immediate plans to adopt it as a form of payment on Apple Pay for the company's products.
"It’s something that we’re looking at. It’s not something we have immediate plans to do," Cook said during the New York Times Dealbook Summit on Tuesday. "I would sort of characterize it as there’s things that I wouldn’t do, like our cash balance. I wouldn’t go invest that in crypto, not because I wouldn’t invest my own money in crypto, but because I don’t think people buy an Apple stock to get exposure to crypto. And so if they want to do that they can invest directly in crypto through other means."
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| AAPL | APPLE INC. | 236.48 | +1.48 | +0.63% |
Though Cook was tight-lipped on what exactly Apple's crypto-related plans are, he did reveal that he has personally invested in them.
"I think it’s reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio and I’m not giving anybody investment advice by the way," he said. "I’ve been interested in it for awhile and I’ve been researching it and so forth and so I think it's interesting."
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While Apple is staying away from crypto for now, its adoption in the mainstream continues to grow. Companies that have embraced the cryptocurrency space include Tesla, AMC Entertainment, PayPal Holdings and Square.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TSLA | TESLA INC. | 218.85 | -1.85 | -0.84% |
| AMC | AMC ENTERTAINMENT | 4.29 | -0.07 | -1.61% |
| PYPL | PAYPAL HOLDINGS INC. | 80.56 | -0.38 | -0.47% |
| SQ | BLOCK INC. | 73.91 | -0.75 | -1.00% |
Last month, ProShares also made history with the first Bitcoin futures ETF. Rather than investing in Bitcoin directly, the ProShares Bitcoin Strategy ETF will offer investors the ability to gain exposure to returns of the world's largest cryptocurrency by investing in bitcoin futures contracts through a brokerage account.
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BITO | PROSHARES BITCOIN STRATEGY ETF - USD DIS | 19.27 | -0.25 | -1.28% |
Securities and Exchange Commission chairman Gary Gensler, who has previously compared cryptocurrencies to the Wild West, has signaled that regulation on the space in the U.S. could be forthcoming. He told FOX Business' "Mornings with Maria" in August that the "field is not going to reach any of its potential if it tries to stay outside of our laws."
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The world's largest cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, is up approximately 130% year-to-date, trading above $66,000 per coin as of the time of publication, according to real-time price tracking by CoinDesk.
Bitcoin's current price marks a slight dip from its new all-time high of $68,525.84 per coin hit on Monday