Apple's job search hints at a possible involvement with cryptocurrency

Will you eventually be able to pay for a new Apple iPhone with Bitcoin? That is one of the conclusions that you might come to following a peak at the "Jobs at Apple" website (via CNBC) where Apple posted a listing for a Business Development Manager for Alternative Payments. The job posting says that the Apple Wallets, Payments, and Commerce (WPC) team is looking for someone to hold up Apple's end in Alternative Payments Partnerships.

The new employee will be working at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino, California and will be given the task of negotiating with potential partners, signing and executing commercial contracts, and developing new programs. The person that Apple is looking for should have five or more years working for an alternative payment provider with expertise in digital wallets, BNPL (buy now, pay later), fast payments, and cryptocurrency.

Apple CEO Tim Cook has talked about a future in which all payments are made digitally, and the iPhone, iPod touch and the Apple Watch have a digital Wallet app that comes with the devices. Apple says that with the app "you can keep your credit, debit, and prepaid cards, store cards, boarding passes, movie tickets, coupons, rewards cards, student ID cards, and more in one place." And through the Messages app, Apple device owners can make peer-to-peer payments.

Some analysts have suggested that Apple invest some of its cash in cryptocurrency following in the footsteps of Tesla. A couple of years ago, an Apple Pay executive said that the company saw "long-term potential" in cryptocurrency technology, but has no plans to use it at the moment. Back in February, RBC Capital Markets Analyst Mitch Steves suggested that Apple create a crypto-exchange and invest in alternative currencies.

Steves' analysis said that if Apple were to get heavily involved in cryptocurrency, it will help the U.S. become the technological leader in this market for as long as 10-20 years. The analyst also forecast that if Apple were to develop a wallet-based crypto exchange, it could generate as much as $40 billion in revenue for Apple.