(Reuters) – Apple Inc has a “clear opportunity” to offer a buy and sell mechanism for cryptocurrencies, a move that would allow the company to immediately gain market share, according to a Monday research report from RBC Capital Markets .
With its access to world-class software and a secure ecosystem, Apple could address the problem individuals face in acquiring crypto assets as a result of law-your-your-customer laws and other regulations, with the company closing system that prevents malicious activity and improves asset security and has direct access to buyers and sellers, the report said.
It added that if Apple, which already has a Wallet app, went down this path, the move would likely make the United States a global leader in crypto assets, diminishing the possibility of a government shutdown of the industry.
“If the US owns the most crypto assets (be it Bitcoin or other assets), it wouldn’t make sense, in our opinion, to ban it,” RBC analysts said in the report.
The report came on the same day that the best cryptocurrency bitcoin was getting closer to mainstream adoption after billionaire Elon Musk’s electric vehicle company Tesla Inc revealed it had bought $ 1.5 billion worth of bitcoin and would soon accept it as a form of payment for cars – sending the cryptocurrency skyrocketing.
Apple has been cautious about cryptocurrencies. The company banned cryptocurrency wallets from the App Store in 2014, but later reversed the decision and now allows them. However, Apple prohibits mining for cryptocurrencies on iPhones and does not allow the Apple Card credit card to be used to purchase cryptocurrencies.
Reporting by Karen Pierog in Chicago; Additional reporting by Stephen Nellis in San Francisco; Editing by Alden Bentley and Matthew Lewis