and thinks “it’s reasonable to own it
as part of a diversified portfolio”.
However, speaking as a CEO, he
said Apple is “looking at” incorporating
cryptocurrencies into Apple Pay but
doesn’t have “immediate plans” to
support the payment. Additionally,
he “(isn’t) planning in the immediate
future to take crypto for our products
as a mean of tender”.
Adding cryptocurrency as a form of
payment within Apple Pay would be
a big move for Apple. While there is
some cryptocurrency support Apple
Pay, it works through third-party
credit cards such as Coinbase, which
converts all cryptocurrency to US
dollars first. You can also download
third-party apps to buy Bitcoin,
Ethereum, or other popular currencies.
PayPal also lets users buy one of four
types of cryptocurrency in its app.
However, those solutions are more
workarounds than integrations, and
are not quite the same as allowing
users to buy things with Bitcoin
in Apple Pay. Bitcoin or Ethereum
support would let users select their
crypto account as an option like
their Apple Card or other credit card
to pay for things at places that accept
the digital currency.
However, Cook definitely left
the door open for support. He said
cryptocurrency is one of the “things
that we are definitely looking at” for
Apple Pay and was coy when pressed
for specifics. When asked “Like
what?” following his comment, Cook
laughingly said, “Like I wouldn’t have
anything to announce today.”