While there is no concrete plan to make any specific crypto moves, an Apple Pay executive has just confirmed that the company is paying attention to the sector. Hopefully and at some point, Apple Pay will support cryptocurrency.
Apple has not been very forward regarding cryptocurrency and blockchain technology in general. A recent report from data and analytics firm Cindicator, named Apple as the third most likely firm to float a digital currency to compete with Facebook’s Libra after Amazon and Google. Now, an Apple exec has confirmed that the company, even though it won’t be making any major decisions yet, has its eyes on the sector.
During a conversation with Christine Romans, CNN’s Chief Business Correspondent in San Francisco at Business event series called The Table, Apple Pay Vice President Jennifer Bailey said:
“We’re watching cryptocurrency. We think it’s interesting. We think it has interesting long-term potential.”
Bailey mentioned this when the conversation swayed towards the company’s plan in the near future for its payment business, especially as it relates to the recently released Apple Card as well as Apple Pay.
The cryptocurrency market at the moment isn’t exactly at its best form and truth be told, it has seen better days even in 2019. A few months ago, the 2018 bear market officially ended and most of the major cryptocurrencies, especially Bitcoin, began to surge.
The market is currently struggling with prolonged periods of consolidation and pullbacks but regardless, some of these major tech companies probably already understand the potential and want a bite out of the crypto pie.
According to Dan Ives, a Wedbush Securities analyst, Apple’s entry into the sector would be great for the industry, probably because of the company’s track record. Ives said:
“This would be a major shot in the arm for crypto if Apple headed down this path. Given where Apple strategically is focused, a move into crypto could make sense given its sights on further monetizing its consumers over the coming years.”
It definitely makes sense to assume that Apple dabbling into cryptocurrency would do wonders for its Apple Pay service which it began a few years ago, back in 2014. At the moment, there is no specific number of Apple Pay subscribers as the company is yet to disclose this.
However, Apple supposedly processes almost a billion transactions monthly. Bailey has even mentioned that in the five years since Apple Pay was launched, contactless transactions have exploded multiple folds from about 3% to more than 70%. With the addition of cryptocurrency, whether the company floats its own digital asset or it starts to support crypto payments via Apple Pay, these numbers are expected to explode.
Back in February, Apple submitted a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) titled “Summary of Apple’s Commitment to Responsible Sourcing” which had a few details showing Apple’s interest in the outlining specific “Blockchain Guidelines.”
Apple Inc. (AAPL) stock is currently at $209.19, a 1.7% increase from its previous close of $205.70. The company is only days away from announcing its new iPhone 11.
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