BTC is becoming a popular feature on the balance sheets of publicly-listed American companies, with many firms committing a significant portion of their equivalent cash balance to the largest cryptocurrency by market capitalization.
According to a client note quoted by Bloomberg, RBC Capital Markets, RBC Capital Markets has urged the iPhone maker to create a Bitcoin exchange platform and also acquire some of the popular cryptocurrency. As part of the note to investors, RBC Capital Markets argued that such an investment move would be savvier than getting into the electric vehicle (EV) market, adding:
“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).”
Indeed, rumors of a planned Apple pivot into the EV market took a hit recently when both Hyundai and Kia distanced themselves from reported negotiations with the U.S. tech giant.
RBC’s call is coming on the heels of reports that EV manufacturing giant Tesla has acquired $1.5 billion in Bitcoin with plans to potentially accept BTC payments for its products. The news sent the price of Bitcoin surging beyond its previous all-time high, setting a new record above the $44,000 mark.
According to an earlier CryptoPotato report, Tesla’s Bitcoin outlay amounted to about 15% of its net cash holdings.
For RBC, the successes of the likes of Coinbase, Square, and PayPal shows the viability of the Bitcoin exchange platform model. Furthermore, the Apple bull stated that the company’s crypto exchange service would have little difficulty in securing significant market share given its proven track record in the area of online security.
To facilitate the success of an Apple crypto exchange, RBC added that the company should convert part of its cash reserve to BTC. According to RBC, such a move would incentivize greater utility for the platform while helping to boost the price of Bitcoin.
Meanwhile, Bitcoin’s surge above the $44,000 mark has been met with some resistance, possibly due to profit-taking that has driven the BTC price to around $43,000 as of the time of writing.