Apple Well Positioned to Offer Crypto Trading — Analyst Says Company Should Hold Bitcoin in Treasury

Apple Inc. is well positioned to offer cryptocurrency trading, according to an analyst with global investment bank RBC Capital Markets. Not only will Apple gain instant market share in the crypto space, but the move could also generate the Iphone maker well over $40 billion in annual revenue. In addition, the analyst says that Apple should follow Tesla’s example and add bitcoin to its balance sheet.

Analyst Says Apple to Benefit From Offering Crypto Trading, Should Add Bitcoin to Treasury

RBC Capital Markets analyst Mitch Steves believes that Apple Inc. has a “clear opportunity” to offer the buying and selling of cryptocurrencies, which he says would result in the company immediately gaining market share. Getting into the crypto exchange business will also bring Apple a sizable revenue stream annually, he detailed. His comments followed the news of Elon Musk’s Tesla putting $1.5 billion into bitcoin.

The analyst predicts that the Iphone maker could create a sizable new market for growth if it were to develop its Apple Wallet into a crypto exchange. He wrote in a note to clients this week:

The wallet initiative appears to be a clear multi-billion dollar opportunity for the firm (potential for well over $40 billion in annual revenue with limited R&D).

“If the firm decides to enter into the crypto exchange business, we think the firm could immediately gain market share and disrupt the industry,” the RBC analyst said.

Steves also stated that Apple’s secured ecosystem will offer added security for the crypto exchange business.

The RBC analyst noted that Apple offering a crypto exchange app would likely make the U.S. a global leader in crypto assets and would lessen the possibility of a government shutdown of the industry. “If the USA owns the most crypto assets (be it Bitcoin or other assets), it would not make logical sense in our view to ban it,” Steves explained in the report.

Besides getting into a cryptocurrency exchange business, the analyst says that Apple would also benefit from following Tesla’s example and add bitcoin to its balance sheet. “This would send even more users to ‘Apple Exchange,'” he detailed, adding that it will also boost the price of bitcoin.