Apple’s New CEO Faces Unanswered Bitcoin Question After Tim Cook’s Departure

Tim Cook stepped down as Apple’s chief executive on September 1, ending a tenure during which the company never added Bitcoin to its balance sheet. Apple reported $146.5 billion in cash and marketable securities as of June 27.

Cook’s 2021 Bitcoin Comment

At a New York Times DealBook event in November 2021, Cook said he personally owned cryptocurrency but declined to invest Apple’s cash in it. He explained that Apple shareholders do not buy the stock for crypto exposure.

Apple’s Financial Performance vs. Bitcoin

Since Cook’s comment, Apple’s share price rose about 82 % from $175.35 at the end of 2021 to $319.70, while Bitcoin’s price increased roughly 12 % from a record near $68,991 to about $77,244.

New Leadership and Potential Direction

John Ternus, a hardware engineer who spent 25 years on Apple devices, succeeded Cook. He has not yet spoken publicly about Apple’s crypto policy. Cook remains executive chairman with a policy brief, leaving the decision‑making on crypto exposure to the payments division rather than treasury.

Apple Pay and Stablecoin Rumors

Apple Pay processes card transactions and does not involve tokenized assets. Reports from 2025 mentioned early discussions about using stablecoins to reduce settlement costs, but Apple has not confirmed any implementation.