Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) top executives led by Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Tim Cook, senior vice presidents Deirdre O’Brien and Katherine Adams offloaded part of their shareholdings according to filings with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Notably, Apple CEO Cook sold about 511,000 shares worth approximately $87.8 million. However, after tax deductions Cook received a total of about $41.5 million. As a result, Cook now owns about 3.28 million shares in the California-based company. On the other hand, Katherine and O’Brien sold about 11.3 million shares.

The Apple share sell spree coincides with a general drop in the value of tech stocks. Furthermore, Apple shares have declined about 12 percent since hitting ATH in July to trade around $173.66 on Thursday. Nonetheless, Apple shares have added approximately 34 percent YTD fueled by the latest product launch including the Vision Pro headset and the new iPhone 15.

Nonetheless, the company’s products remained at lower prices in a bid to compete with other smartphone manufacturers like Huawei and Samsung. Additionally, there has been a general smartphone slump in shipments this year compared to last year. According to a report compiled by research firm Canalys, North American smartphone shipments are expected to drop by about 12 percent in 2023.

As a result, analysts at KeyBanc downgraded Apple shares from ‘Overweight’ to ‘sector-weight’ citing a weaker sales growth outlook.

Apple Market Outlook

The last time Apple CEO Cook sold major stock holdings was back in August 2021, when he offloaded shares worth more than $750 million – but received about $355 million after-tax deductions – after completing a decade as the top executive. Earlier this year, Cook took a pay cut of about 40 percent to receive $49 million per annum. However, Cook saw his stock compensation increase from 50 percent to about 75 percent.

The $2.7 trillion valued company reported a sales decline of about 1.4 percent for the fiscal quarter that ended on July 01. Notably, the company reported a revenue of about $81.8 billion with its earnings per share (EPS) having grown by about 5 percent to $1.26.

In the near future, Apple anticipates an increase in smartphone shipments after adding USB-C charger support for its latest products to comply with the European market. Moreover, other smartphone companies have been releasing their devices with support of the USB-C charger type and sold seamlessly across more jurisdictions.

Meanwhile, the company is optimistic about better fourth fiscal quarter results bolstered by over 1 billion in paid subscriptions to its services.

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Shiba Inu coin is down again, while Bitcoin remains stable, as Apple CEO Tim Cook confirms he owns cryptocurrency.

On Tuesday, the SHIBA Inu coin fell as Bitcoin remained stable, and Apple CEO Tim Cook confirmed that he holds cryptocurrency.

“I do,” Cook answered when asked if he owned Bitcoin or Ethereum at the New York Times DealBook conference. According to CNBC, “I believe it is appropriate to purchase it as part of a diversified portfolio.”

“By the way, I’m not providing anyone investment advice,” he continued.

Meanwhile, according to Coinbase, Bitcoin was unchanged by Tuesday afternoon, while Shiba Inu was down. On the crypto site, Shiba Inu currency has dropped 24.24 percent in the last seven days.

Shibu Inu is a cryptocurrency token that can be held in trillions of dollars. Shiba Inu tokens feature the same dog as Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that has become one of the most popular this year.

Meanwhile, according to Barron’s, analysts believe the two most popular crypto currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are still inexpensive when compared to traditional equities markets.

For the most recent news and updates, visit our bitcoin live blog…

THE SQUID GAME’S RED FLAGS One red indication of the newest SQUID coin being fake, according to COINGizmodo, was the creators’ website, which was riddled with spelling and grammatical problems.

Outsiders were not allowed to remark on the crypto’s Telegram channel, and its Twitter account did not allow users to reply to tweets, which Gizmodo reported as suspicious.

WAS THE SQUID SCAM EXTREMELY CLEAR?

Gizmodo issued a warning about the scam, but it did not reach everyone in time.

The biggest red flag, according to the site, was that investors could buy the coin but not sell it.

SQUID CRYPTOCURRENCY SCAMMERS GET $2.1 MILLIONAfter the SQUID coin was established just last week, the project’s developers yanked the rug out from under it and cashed in the coins for real money.

A total of $2.1 million was lost by investors as a result of the scam.

SQUARE MAY BUILD BITCOIN MINING HARDWARESquare CEO Jack Dorsey claimed in a recent tweet that the business might build a bitcoin mining rig, according to Business Insider.

“Square is exploring constructing a bitcoin mining system for consumers and businesses throughout the world based on bespoke silicon and open source,” CEO Dorsey said in a tweet.

“If we do this, we’ll construct it in the open, in conjunction with the community, as we did with our hardware wallet.”

BIDEN WISHES TO STOP THE “ILLICIT USE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY.”

“Cyber attacks may touch every American, every organization, regardless of size, and every community,” President Joe Biden said recently.

“That is why, in order to combat cyber dangers, my administration is mobilizing a national effort.”

The White House has hinted that the US will convene a meeting with 30 other countries to discuss cybercrime solutions.

“The United States will bring… Brinkwire Brief News this month.”

Should you buy crypto if you own Apple stock? Freddie Evans, Sales Trader at the UK based digital asset broker GlobalBlock, discusses Apple’s foray into Bitcoin among other pertinent matters.  

Owning Apple stock isn’t a reason to invest in crypto

Today, Apple boss Tim Cook revealed that he owns crypto, and that’s not all; he believes everyone should have some in their portfolio. This might lead Apple’s loyal supporters to seek exposure to crypto.   

However, Tim Cook also stated accepting crypto as payment was not an option for Apple. He doesn’t believe investing in Apple stock means someone will want to invest in crypto by extension. 

With other major companies like Meta foraying into crypto, stakeholders are holding their breath for Apple’s next move. At any rate, this development is helping underscore the recent surge of digital asset markets.

Bitcoin settles after reaching new ATH

Bitcoin’s price has settled after its recent race to new heights. The biggest crypto lost 2% over the last 24 hours to trade at just over $66,000. According to analysts, the bull run will continue in November, which has always been a positive month for crypto. 

Similarly, Ethereum lost just under 2% over the last 24 hours. Most altcoins have also settled. Currently, the biggest movers in the top 50 are Loopring (up 51.56%) and Litecoin (up 8.17%).

Spanish central bank asks banks to outline crypto plans

The Spanish Banco de Espania has asked commercial banks to outline any cryptocurrency-related plans they have for the next three years, including any relationships with digital assets providers.

Banks have also been asked to share their exposure to the industry and any payment services they are looking at potentially providing. This is the first major move in Spain to regulate crypto in the last few years.

Zimbabwe to accept Bitcoin as legal tender?

Will Zimbabwe follow in El Salvador’s footsteps? It’s too early to say, but a Zimbabwean government official confirmed the country had asked “knowledgeable people” to share their views about cryptocurrencies. 

The purpose is to create a new approach to their money problem. Zimbabwe has struggled with hyperinflation for decades. In 2019, it made a failed attempt to peg the Zim dollar to the US dollar.

SHIBA Inu coin was down on Tuesday as Bitcoin stayed steady, and Apple CEO Tim Cook revealed he owns cryptocurrency.

At the New York Times DealBook conference, Cook was asked if he owns Bitcoin or Ethereum and said, “I do. I think it’s reasonable to own it as part of a diversified portfolio,” according to CNBC.

“I’m not giving anyone investment advice by the way,” he added.

Meanwhile, Bitcoin held steady by Tuesday afternoon, according to Coinbase, and Shiba Inu was down. Shiba Inu coin was listed as being down 24.24 percent over the last seven days on the crypto site.

Shibu Inu is a cryptocurrency token that allows users to hold trillions of them. Tokens of Shiba Inu feature the same dog as Dogecoin, which has become one of the most popular cryptocurrencies this year.

Meanwhile, analysts say the two largest crypto currencies, Bitcoin and Ethereum, are still cheap when compared to traditional equity markets, according to Barron’s.

Read our cryptocurrency live blog for the latest news and updates…

Elon Musk, Tim Cook Deny Meeting to Discuss Tesla Acquisition

The claims published in Tim Higgins new book ‘Power Play: Tesla, Elon Musk and the Bet of the Century,’ that the Tesla Inc (NASDAQ: TSLA) CEO and Tim Cook, the Chief Executive Officer of Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) had a meeting to discuss the possible acquisition of the electric automaker has been refuted by both parties.

According to Insideevs, the conversation in which Tim Cook said ‘f*** you’ to Musk via a phone call has been adjudged as false. According to the book from Higgins, a New York Times reporter, the Apple boss called Musk to discuss a possible acquisition deal as far back as 2016. Higgins claims that both CEOs’ discussions fell apart when Musk demanded to continue being the CEO of Apple following the acquisition. The proposition was not well received by Cook who said ‘f*** you’ and hung up the phone.

While there has been a consideration to give up Tesla to Apple as Musk agreed to, that was when the former’s valuation is just about 6% of what it is today. Moreover, Musk said despite requesting to meet with Cook for the takeover consideration, the meeting never actually happened.

“Cook & I have never spoken or written to each other ever. There was a point where I requested to meet with Cook to talk about Apple buying Tesla. There were no conditions of acquisition proposed whatsoever. He refused to meet. Tesla was worth about 6% of today’s value,” Musk revealed via his official Twitter account.

Besides Musk, Cook has also owned up to not having met with Musk on no occasion when he appeared on the New York Times Sway Podcast according to an earlier Bloomberg report.

Elon Musk Says He Had No Interest Running Apple and Tim Cook

As the most valuable automaker in the world by market capitalization, there appear to be no signs that Tesla is up for sale as Musk once intended close a decade ago. Moreso, Elon Musk has said via his Twitter account that he never at any time expressed interest in taking over Apple. Per his words:

“Indeed. Both Cook & I have been clear publicly that we have never spoken or otherwise communicated. I tried to speak to him & he declined. Nor have I ever expressed any interest in running Apple to anyone. Cook is, all things considered, obviously doing an incredible job.”

The doubled-checked claim from both Cook and Musk leaves Higgins’s assertions to be questionable. Despite the book being reviewed by the Los Angeles Times, Musk duly noted that the author has “managed to make his book both false *and* boring.”

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Benjamin Godfrey is a blockchain enthusiast and journalists who relish writing about the real life applications of blockchain technology and innovations to drive general acceptance and worldwide integration of the emerging technology. His desires to educate people about cryptocurrencies inspires his contributions to renowned blockchain based media and sites. Benjamin Godfrey is a lover of sports and agriculture.