Financial institutions continue to take a stand against Bitcoin, but its popularity shows no sign of waning.
Nolan Bauerle, Director of Research at Coindesk, told Cheddar that companies shying away from cryptocurrency are making an unwise decision, given high investor interest and increased popularity.
“Bitcoin doesn’t care, Bitcoin dealt with the [People’s Bank of China] already banning it,” he said. “Here you’ve got these guys...trying to make some kind of political point, and the market and cryptocurrency will not care, and will ignore it to the extent that they’ve already ignored the PBOC.”
Financial firm Merrill Lynch recently jumped on the anti-Bitcoin bandwagon, banning clients and financial advisers who trade on their behalf from buying it. Advisers are not allowed to sell Grayscale’s Bitcoin Investment Fund, and bitcoin futures contracts are also forbidden.
Bauerle contends that these banks will have to retract and “come back eventually.”
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/inside-the-factors-driving-ripples-xrp-surge).
Apple CEO Tim Cook said Thursday that the majority of iPhones sold in the U.S. in the current fiscal quarter will be sourced from India, while iPads and other devices will come from Vietnam as the company works to avoid the impact of President Trump’s tariffs on its business. Apple’s earnings for the first three months of the year topped Wall Street’s expectations thanks to high demand for its iPhones, and the company said tariffs had a limited effect on the fiscal second quarter’s results. Cook added that for the current quarter, assuming things don’t change, Apple expects to see $900 million added to its costs as a result of the tariffs.