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Before grabbing your pitchforks (again), please take the time to read this article from Gliph that clearly states Apple's policy on why they prohibit Bitcoin: h

Before grabbing your pitchforks (again), please take the time to read this article from Gliph that clearly states Apple's policy on why they prohibit Bitcoin: https://blog.gli.ph/2013/12/09/the-state-of-bitcoin-mobile-applications-in-the-app-store-and-google-play/ https://blog.gli.ph/2013/12/09/the-state-of-bitcoin-mobile-a... I really can't blame Apple for wanting to prevent potentially illegal content. When you allow that, you open yourself up to FBI raids, wiretapping, and other unplanned nuisances. Are there really full Bitcoin wallets on Android? I'm glad that Apple's strict guidelines at least partly force developers to employ smarter decisions regarding disk space, network usage, and battery life (traditional Bitcoin wallets download the entire block chain and constantly poll the network for updates).

crazygringo 13y ago
From Apple: “We found that your app contains content related to bitcoins – or facilitates, enables, or encourages an activity – that is not legal in all the locations in which the app is available, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines. But this is ridiculous. I can use my Citibank app, the PayPal app, or whatever else, to pay for things that might not be legal either. Square could facilitate me receiving money for illegal things. It's hard to see why these are all allowed, but Bitcoin isn't.
- rmrfrmrf 13y ago
  The examples you gave don't use Bitcoin; they all use USD. The currency itself is illegal; we're not even talking about what you're doing with the currency. Bitcoin's legality is disputed in China, Thailand, and the state of California. Since Apple operates out of California, it makes sense that they would hesitate to allow such functionality on their apps. Edit for clarity: I interpret "facilitates, enables, or encourages an activity – that is not legal in all the locations in which the app is available" to mean that the act of making a Bitcoin transaction is illegal in certain jurisdictions.
  - dmix 13y ago
    It's not illegal to transfer money as a consumer with Bitcoin in California or the other places you mentioned. It's just illegal to do so without proper licencing if you run a financial business. Apple is just offering an app marketplace, they are not hosting BTC transfers or running a money-transfer business by letting Gliph be in the app store.
  - yeldarb 13y ago
    Illegal and "disputed legality" are two entirely different beasts. If the legality is disputed that is for a court to decide, not Apple. In regard to China specifically they explicitly said last week that it is still legal for private Chinese citizens to use Bitcoin.
    - patmcc 13y ago
      Apple isn't deciding the legality, they're refusing to allow something of "disputed legality" into the store they run. Would you be mad at Walmart for not selling a new supplement that was of "disputed legality"?
      - maxerickson 13y ago
        I find Walmart's decision not to carry music with explicit lyrics similarly tiresome to Apple's quest to defend their users from installing things. (But both issues are easily sidestepped so I don't care very much...)
      - DanBC 13y ago
        Reddit has content that is clearly, unambiguously, illegal in the UK. There are apps to access Reddit in the app store.
        reginaldjcooper 13y ago
        What like cyberbullying? Genuinely curious.
mrb 13y ago
Virtually all popular local (ie. non-hosted) Bitcoin wallets on Android are lightweight wallets. They do NOT download the full blockchain. They do NOT listen to all Bitcoin traffic. They use the Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) mode. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Scalability#Simplified_payment_verification https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Scalability#Simplified_payment_ve... Apple would have zero reason for banning such lightweight clients, as they consume no more resources than a typical app.
biafra 13y ago
What do you mean by "full Bitcoin wallets"? There are several wallets on Android that do not rely on any servers except for the Bitcoin network servers. Bitcoin Wallet by Andreas Schildbach: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.... Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet by Mycelium Developers: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycelium.wallet https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycelium.w... They both do not store the full Blockchain.
conanbatt 13y ago
This is obviously related to the fact that they dont know how to charge the 30% comission they usually do. Bitcoin is a risk on the controlled environment they have.
- _Simon 13y ago
  This is so tiresome. The 30% is a service charge. It covers hosting, distribution and credit card processing to name but a few things. Before the AppStore, entities such as handango we're charging more than double as a percentage. It's not an arbitrary figure that you seem to think they plucked from their collective asses when instigating the store. So please. Drop the fucking trite meme. It's vapid.
  - conanbatt 13y ago
    I didn't question the fairness or value of that commission and frankly, its irrelevant to the point at hand. If they officially allowed bitcoin on the AppleMarket, there's no telling how many vendors would offer it for an absurdly bigger profit margin. Being practical, this means that theres space for a solution to charge intermediary commission and let apple have its piece of the pie.

crazygringo 13y ago

From Apple: “We found that your app contains content related to bitcoins – or facilitates, enables, or encourages an activity – that is not legal in all the locations in which the app is available, which is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines. But this is ridiculous. I can use my Citibank app, the PayPal app, or whatever else, to pay for things that might not be legal either. Square could facilitate me receiving money for illegal things. It's hard to see why these are all allowed, but Bitcoin isn't.

rmrfrmrf 13y ago
The examples you gave don't use Bitcoin; they all use USD. The currency itself is illegal; we're not even talking about what you're doing with the currency. Bitcoin's legality is disputed in China, Thailand, and the state of California. Since Apple operates out of California, it makes sense that they would hesitate to allow such functionality on their apps. Edit for clarity: I interpret "facilitates, enables, or encourages an activity – that is not legal in all the locations in which the app is available" to mean that the act of making a Bitcoin transaction is illegal in certain jurisdictions.
- dmix 13y ago
  It's not illegal to transfer money as a consumer with Bitcoin in California or the other places you mentioned. It's just illegal to do so without proper licencing if you run a financial business. Apple is just offering an app marketplace, they are not hosting BTC transfers or running a money-transfer business by letting Gliph be in the app store.
- yeldarb 13y ago
  Illegal and "disputed legality" are two entirely different beasts. If the legality is disputed that is for a court to decide, not Apple. In regard to China specifically they explicitly said last week that it is still legal for private Chinese citizens to use Bitcoin.
  - patmcc 13y ago
    Apple isn't deciding the legality, they're refusing to allow something of "disputed legality" into the store they run. Would you be mad at Walmart for not selling a new supplement that was of "disputed legality"?
    - maxerickson 13y ago
      I find Walmart's decision not to carry music with explicit lyrics similarly tiresome to Apple's quest to defend their users from installing things. (But both issues are easily sidestepped so I don't care very much...)
    - DanBC 13y ago
      Reddit has content that is clearly, unambiguously, illegal in the UK. There are apps to access Reddit in the app store.
      - reginaldjcooper 13y ago
        What like cyberbullying? Genuinely curious.

mrb 13y ago

Virtually all popular local (ie. non-hosted) Bitcoin wallets on Android are lightweight wallets. They do NOT download the full blockchain. They do NOT listen to all Bitcoin traffic. They use the Simplified Payment Verification (SPV) mode. https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Scalability#Simplified_payment_verification https://en.bitcoin.it/wiki/Scalability#Simplified_payment_ve... Apple would have zero reason for banning such lightweight clients, as they consume no more resources than a typical app.

biafra 13y ago

What do you mean by "full Bitcoin wallets"? There are several wallets on Android that do not rely on any servers except for the Bitcoin network servers. Bitcoin Wallet by Andreas Schildbach: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.wallet https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.schildbach.... Mycelium Bitcoin Wallet by Mycelium Developers: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycelium.wallet https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.mycelium.w... They both do not store the full Blockchain.

conanbatt 13y ago

This is obviously related to the fact that they dont know how to charge the 30% comission they usually do. Bitcoin is a risk on the controlled environment they have.

_Simon 13y ago
This is so tiresome. The 30% is a service charge. It covers hosting, distribution and credit card processing to name but a few things. Before the AppStore, entities such as handango we're charging more than double as a percentage. It's not an arbitrary figure that you seem to think they plucked from their collective asses when instigating the store. So please. Drop the fucking trite meme. It's vapid.
- conanbatt 13y ago
  I didn't question the fairness or value of that commission and frankly, its irrelevant to the point at hand. If they officially allowed bitcoin on the AppleMarket, there's no telling how many vendors would offer it for an absurdly bigger profit margin. Being practical, this means that theres space for a solution to charge intermediary commission and let apple have its piece of the pie.