(Reuters) – Apple Inc. has a “clear opportunity” to offer a cryptocurrency buying and selling mechanism, a move that would allow the company to gain market share immediately, according to a research report by RBC Capital Markets.
With its access to world-class software and a secure ecosystem, Apple could face the problem that individuals face when purchasing crypto assets due to “know your customer” laws and other regulations with the company offering a closed system that prevents activities nefarious, improves asset security, and has instant access to buyers and sellers, the report said.
He added that if Apple, which already has a Wallet app, follows this path, the move is likely to make the United States a global leader in crypto assets, lessening the possibility of a governmental closure of the industry.
“If the US has most of the crypto assets (whether Bitcoin or other assets), it would make no logical sense, in our opinion, to ban it,” said RBC analysts in the report.
The report came on the same day that high-end cryptocurrency bitcoin approached conventional acceptance after billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla Inc revealed that it had purchased $ 1.5 billion bitcoin and would soon accept it as payment method for cars – sending the cryptocurrency by shooting higher.
Apple has acted cautiously with cryptocurrencies. The company banned cryptocurrency wallets from its App Store in 2014, but later reversed the decision and now allows them. However, Apple prohibits the mining of cryptocurrencies on iPhones and does not allow its Apple Card credit card to be used to buy cryptocurrencies.
Karen Pierog reporting in Chicago; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Alden Bentley and Matthew Lewis