Apple has no immediate plans to accept crypto as payment, says Tim Cook

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“I don’t want to put labels on me, it’s just something that I’m personally interested in,” Apple CEO told reporter Andrew Ross Sorkin at of the New York Times DealBook Summit Tuesday.

Cook did not specify which tokens he owns but said: “I think it is reasonable to own [crypto] as part of a diversified portfolio. … I’ve been interested in it for a while. ”

Still, cryptocurrency enthusiasts shouldn’t hold their breath for the day when they can buy an iPhone using Bitcoin. Cook said he does not plan to accept crypto as a payment method for Apple products (AAPL) in the immediate future. He added that he also has no plans to invest Apple’s money in cryptocurrency. Some other companies, including Tesla and Square, Jack Dorsey’s payments company, invested directly in crypto, and for a short time, Tesla accepted bitcoin as a payment method.

“I don’t think people buy Apple stock to gain exposure to crypto,” Cook said. “If they want to do that, they can invest directly in crypto in other ways.”

But, he said, “there are other ‘crypto related’ things that we are definitely looking at. … I have nothing to announce today.”

As for Apple’s other future plans, Cook declined to comment on long-standing rumors that an Apple car could emerge.

“We try not to talk too much about the future because we have so much to do today that we try to keep the future a secret,” he said. “It wouldn’t be us if we didn’t keep something up our sleeves.”

Cook also addressed a number of other issues facing the tech giant, including criticism that its App Store allows it to act as a gatekeeper between app developers and the millions of customers in the world. Apple ecosystem. Apple is currently engaged in a legal battle with the maker of Fortnite Epic Games over its App Store and the commission fees it charges developers. Apple critics and even some lawmakers have called on the company to allow third-party app stores, a move sometimes referred to as “sideloading.” Apple has defended its commissions as being consistent with other app stores and that App Store exclusivity on its devices is necessary to ensure security.

“If you want to download, you can buy an Android phone,” Cook said. He added that giving iPhone users the ability to “sideload” applications from platforms outside of Apple’s App Store would, from Apple’s point of view, be “as if I were a car manufacturer, tell me not to put airbags and seat belts in a car. You would never think of doing that. Right now it’s just too risky … and it wouldn’t be. not an iPhone if it didn’t maximize security and privacy. ”

The company has also faced a constant stream of criticism regarding its operations in China, where concerns have been raised about human rights violations by the Chinese government (which the government denies).

“I think we have a responsibility as a company to do business in as many places as possible,” Cook said. “I believe in what [former IBM CEO] Tom Watson said: “world peace through world trade”. … As for what we’re talking about, we’re talking about some [issues] in private, we talk about it publicly, we do it in different ways. And you have to understand, when you operate outside of the United States in any country in the world, that there are different laws. Part of the complexity and beauty of the world is that everyone has their own laws and customs. ”

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