Apple Has No Plans of Launching its Own Cryptocurrency

Tim Cook, Apple’s CEO, said that his company has no intention of creating its own cryptocurrency, French media magazine Les Echos reported on 4 October.

Apple has decided not go down the path of Facebook and its controversial stablecoin Libra.

During his interview with the French magazine, Cook said that private companies should not be looking to gain power through the creation of digital currencies, and that monetary control should remain in the hands of the state.

He said:

“No. I deeply believe that money must remain in the hands of states. I am not comfortable with the idea that a private group creates a competing currency.”

It is no wonder that Cook has decided to stay away from digital currencies for now, seeing what has been happening with Facebook, and its Libra cryptocurrency.

The social media giant has been under heavy fire from regulators worldwide, who have said that Libra is a potential threat to financial stability.

Lawmakers from the U.S. have called for the project to be halted, while some in the E.U. have said that they plan to block the cryptocurrency.

In his interview, Cook further stressed that elected governments should be the ones controlling money, saying:

“Money, like Defense, must remain in the hands of States, it is at the heart of their mission. We elect our representatives to assume government responsibilities. Companies are not elected, they do not have to go on this ground.”

It seems that instead of going down the crypto path, Apple is focusing its efforts on its fiat-currency payment initiatives, Apple Pay and Apple Card.

These services will compete for market share in the payment space with companies such as Visa, Mastercard and PayPal.

All three of these payment processors had signed up to be a part of the Switzerland-based Libra Association, though they have been having second thoughts as of late.

As previously reported, Visa and Mastercard are considering backing out of the project, while PayPal has already withdrawn its support.