Apple Chief Tim Cook Reveals He Owns Some Crypto

Now that bitcoin and Ethereum have entered new record territory, the topic is fair game in the mainstream. Technology entrepreneurs have been on board with bitcoin for a while, and more executives are starting to jump on the crypto bandwagon.

Most recently, Apple CEO Tim Cook tipped his hand to his crypto portfolio. CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin asked Cook whether he owned any bitcoin or Ethereum, in response to which the Apple chief said he did. Apparently Cook didn’t just catch bitcoin fever and has been interested in the market “for a while,” saying,

“I think it’s reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio.”

While he didn’t offer details, it was enough to trigger a response from the cryptocurrency community. Bitcoin billionaire Tyler Winklevoss is already wondering, ‘When Dogecoin?’

 

Tim Cook owns bitcoin and ether. Wen doge?

— Tyler Winklevoss (@tyler) November 9, 2021

Meme coins have become increasingly popular for investors and businesses alike. Fellow tech billionaire Elon Musk has been supportive of Dogecoin and recently revealed that it’s the only meme coin he owns. The Tesla chief also has some bitcoin and Ethereum in his crypto portfolio.

Fellow tech entrepreneur Mark Cuban is another Dogecoin fan, preferring the meme coin as a medium of exchange over bitcoin. Cuban believes bitcoin’s strongest use case is as a store of value, rivaling precious metal gold.

Crypto Jobs

Cook’s crypto disclosure might not come as a complete shock. Apple has been known to list crypto-related openings on job boards for roles such as crypto software engineers.

In addition, e-commerce giant Amazon could potentially be inching closer to crypto adoption. Amazon Web Services is looking to hire a digital asset specialist who will be engaging with companies that are transacting in tokens such as cryptocurrencies, CBDCs, and NFTs.

Apple & Crypto

MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor would like to see Apple go deeper down the bitcoin rabbit hole. He tweeted that if Cook’s company would add bitcoin support to the iPhone and convert the balance sheet to BTC, like MicroStrategy has done, “it would be worth at least a trillion dollars to their shareholders.”

While it worked for MicroStrategy, investors might not want to hold their breath on Apple following suit. Cook said in response to a question about Apple,

“I wouldn’t go invest in crypto, not because I wouldn’t invest my own money, but because I don’t think people buy Apple stock to get exposure to crypto.”

Apple shares are trading fractionally higher on the day.