16 Macworld • January 2022NEWS
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.”