In brief: Apple CEO Tim Cook on Tuesday said cryptocurrency is something the company is looking at, but not something they have immediate plans to get involved in. They do, however, have ideas about segments they wouldn’t want Apple to mingle in.
Cook’s thoughts on crypto came during an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin as part of The New York Times’ DealBook Online Summit.
Elaborating on the topic, Cook said there are things he wouldn’t do with it, such as using Apple’s cash reserves to invest in cryptocurrency. “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.”
If people want to get exposure to crypto, they can invest in it directly, Cook advised.
Cook also said Apple has no immediate plans to accept crypto as a form of payment for its products. When pressed on what sort of things Apple would be interested in getting involved with as it relates to crypto, Cook said they have nothing to announce today.
Sorkin then asked if Cook personally owned any crypto like Bitcoin or Ethereum. The executive said he does, adding that he believes it is reasonable to own as part of a diversified portfolio. “I’m not giving anybody investment advice, by the way,” Cook added.
Delving deeper, Cook said he has been interested in crypto for a while and thinks it is interesting. He also said NFTs are interesting, but believes it could take a while for them to “play out in a way that is for the mainstream person.”
Sorkin and Cook also discussed mental health, augmented reality and the automotive industry during the half-hour interview.
