Apple has admitted to keeping its eye on bitcoin over these past few months, saying it finds the asset “interesting.”
Apple and Crypto… Are They Matching Up?
Today is the launch of Apple’s new iPhone 11, and company executives say they’ve been watching bitcoin for some time, with serious interest sparking in the currency earlier this year. The company had previously exhibited a mixed reaction towards digital currency units in the past.
Last week, Jennifer Bailey – the vice president of Apple Pay – commented:
We’re watching cryptocurrency. We think it’s interesting. We think it has interesting long-term potential.
To be fair, however, cryptocurrency has garnered serious attention from tech companies all year, particularly from companies that make phones. Samsung, for example, which is the biggest competitor to Apple, creates the Galaxy mobile phones, which give iPhones a run for their money. The company recently developed what it’s calling a blockchain key store for its new Galaxy S10 and Note10 models, which allows customers to store the keys to their bitcoin and crypto wallets securely on their phones.
Perhaps the biggest attention has come from social media conglomerate Facebook, which is looking to release the new Libra coin sometime next year. However, where Facebook and companies like Apple differ is that Facebook ultimately studied bitcoin just to better understand its structure for its own product. Apple seems to be a legitimate fan, whereas Facebook isn’t.
In fact, Mark Zuckerberg – the company’s CEO – has commented in the past that bitcoin is likely to lead to chaos down the line. Apple’s comments are more in line with those of Jack Dorsey, the CEO of both payment processor Square and Facebook competitor Twitter. Recently, Dorsey expressed his love for BTC, commenting that it was a solid invention, though he thinks it will be a long time before the currency is stable enough to be used as a method of payment.
Apple’s comments are particularly intriguing as they suggest a massive change in the company’s overall attitude towards digital assets. Last month, the enterprise released a new credit card. Many crypto enthusiasts were both shocked and appalled when the company stated that the card could not be used to buy bitcoin or any other virtual currencies.
Some New Additions to the Apple World
The card was released through a partnership with Goldman Sachs. Per that enterprise’s user agreement, cryptocurrency buys were out of the question. The card ultimately received mixed reviews from critics, who claimed that the product was “lacking innovation.”
Today, the official announcement of the iPhone 11 will occur in Cupertino, California, the area of Apple’s headquarters. Two additional versions of the phone called Max and Pro will also be revealed, as well as other products and upgrades to Apple TV and the Apple Watch.
