Apple CEO Reveals Crypto Portfolio, But Denies Crypto Payment For Apple Products, Here’s Why

Apple CEO, Tim Cook revealed that he has invested his personal savings in cryptocurrency, as part of his “diversified portfolio”. Cook spoke remotely at the New York Times’ Dealbook Conference, where he unveiled his personal investment in a crypto portfolio, however, he did not specify the cryptocurrency that he has invested in.

 “I think it’s reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio…I’m not giving anyone investment advice, by the way…I’ve been interested in it for a while. I’ve been researching it and so forth … I think it’s interesting.”, said Cook.

While Cook does not mind taking risks with crypto via his personal money, he denied any foreseeable plans for Apple to begin accepting crypto payments, given the high-risk factor. Furthermore, Cook also clarified that Apple will not be investing the company’s money in crypto anytime soon. However, Apple’s CEO did not shy away from hinting at potential plans related to digital assets apart from mere investment or payment gateways, noting that “there are other things that we’re definitely looking at” in terms of the decentralized sphere. Additionally, Cook showed his interest in Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), although, he also noted that “it will take a while to play out in a way that is for the mainstream person”.

Apple Play Store Phishing Controversy

Apple is tip-toeing around any major crypto integration, given Apple Play Store’s history with crypto scams. Towards the end of the third quarter, Apple found itself stuck in a lawsuit in lieu of its irresponsible screening process. The Diep Vs Apple class-action lawsuit was filed after the fraudulent app on Apple’s App Store, Toast Plus, disguised as a cryptocurrency wallet, Toast Wallet scammed users to extract XRP from users’ wallets through phishing attacks.

“This action is a class-action suit for damages under the federal and state laws of the United States, seeking legal remedy for the Defendant’s breaches of those same laws, in participating in and or allowing “hacking” and “breach” of financial account information and actual theft of personal financial assets, by authorizing a malicious application in the “App Store” and maintaining the same, despite knowledge of the criminal activity, and the Defendant’s further failures to notify Plaintiff and the Class Members that their financial information had been compromised.”, stated the lawsuit letter.