Does Apple wage a war against cryptocurrecies?
Brian Armstrong, head of the leading US cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase, published a series of tweets in September. He noted again that Apple is suppressing innovation in the crypto industry and pressing blockchain developers to protect itself from competition.
The Apple of Discord
These controversial tweets (according to Armstrong) appeared because Apple forced Coinbase to change their product before adding it to the App Store. Earlier, Brian Armstrong already said that Apple is blocking some functionality for developers of cryptocurrency applications. The head of Coinbase guessed that other developers do not coverage this fact because of fear of reprisal, but Coinbase has already exhausted other ways to negotiate with Apple.
Coinbase is fighting over two accessibility features for their iOS app: making money with cryptocurrencies and accessing Decentralized Financial Apps (DeFi). Now Apple is banning these features, and Armstrong directly called it "censorship" and restricting users in their rights. The ban affected the educational service Coinbase Earn, where users could receive small sums for completing tasks.
In the comments, Twitter users note that the bans are caused by Apple's attempts to protect users from scam, which is really a lot among crypto startups. But most of them agree with Armstrong and offer to completely move to another segment of the application market: smartphones with Android system.
Other cryptocurrency apps on iOS
Meanwhile, the App Store already has decentralized applications, but without earning functions. Here are some of them officially available for download and installation:
- Haven social network. Users can shop, instant messaging, and send cryptocurrencies from mobile devices. Bitcoin, Bitcoin Cash, Litecoin, and Zcash are available.
- ADAMANT. The anonymous messenger with the function of sending cryptocurrencies in chats, with nice bonuses: a bot for betting and exchange of digital currencies in-chat.
- Bitpapa P2P marketplace iOS app: a platform for buying and selling cryptocurrencies.
- Mobile cryptocurrency wallet Mobi from the Chinese bitcoin company BTCC.
Coinbase plans to submit a formal request to Apple for changes to the App Store policy. If they do, we will probably see a new boom in crypto applications.
Earlier, we analyzed when plastic cards with the Bitcoin payment function will appear.