NEW YORK:  Tim Cook, the CEO of Apple, has shocked Twitter by stating that he owns cryptocurrencies and has been interested in it for "a while." Even as bitcoin and ethereum values climbed to fresh record highs, Cook, whose current net worth is at USD1.4 billion, brushed down rumours that Apple is eyeing crypto as an investment. Apple has been looking into cryptocurrency, according to him, but may not be able to provide users a method to pay with it anytime soon.

Cook gave a talk at the Dealbook Online Summit on Tuesday. He told DealBook's Andrew Ross Sorkin, "I think it's appropriate to own it as part of a diversified portfolio," but swiftly added that he wasn't giving investment advice. This provided a rare glimpse into how Cook maintains his portfolio, as well as the news that he has done some crypto study, according to Twitter users.

"I don't think people buy Apple shares to acquire exposure to crypto," he said, adding that his business has no intentions to make bitcoin a payment mechanism anytime soon. "We don't have any urgent intentions to do it." "However, never say never," Cook joked.

A rising number of large corporations are implementing cryptocurrency into their operations. For example, Tesla began receiving payments for its electric vehicles in January but abruptly stopped in May, claiming environmental concerns. In addition, the company's corporate treasury purchased bitcoins worth USD1.5 billion.

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