“Apple MacBook” (CC BY 2.0) by pestoverde
Apple’s App Store is something of a walled garden. Developing for the platform requires expertise in leaping through hoops as well as skills like coding and UI/UX design.
Developers targeting the iPhone or iPad need a Mac of some description, as Apple’s Xcode development environment doesn’t run on anything else. Then, there’s the thorny issue of the company’s review criteria, which touches on everything from an app’s appearance to the presence (or not) or privacy policies.
It’s perhaps no surprise then that cryptocurrencies, a legitimate but embryonic type of money, have only just managed to turn Apple’s head. As of 2016, there are just six (of 641 total) cryptocurrencies allowed on the App Store, available for use in any app that supports them. These are Bitcoin, The DAO, Ethereum, Litecoin, Dogecoin, and Ripple.
Considering that Steve Wozniak, the co-founder of Apple and a major shareholder to this day, worked for a blockchain-based tech firm in 2015, Apple’s omission of even popular cryptocurrencies like Monero and Dash seems a little odd. The current six (above) aren’t even the top six by overall market value (Dogecoin is 11th, for example).
Immediate Transactions
It’s an unfortunate state of affairs for fans of cryptocurrency as the vast majority of them have comparable benefits to Bitcoin, the progenitor of the entire movement. Transactions made in the likes of Litecoin and Dogecoin are immediate and offer consumers the extra privacy and security that a currency based on Bitcoin technology has by default.
As a consequence of the above, Bitcoin in particular has an entire part of the internet dedicated to its use. Some websites in the iGaming niche, a type of company that offers online and mobile casino, have abandoned fiat currencies altogether in favor of a Bitcoin-only environment. Vegas Casino, for example, even provides its welcome bonuses (1000 mBTC) in Bitcoin.
Vegas Casino has built a Bitcoin ‘faucet’ into its site, which allows visitors to receive small amounts of cryptocurrency – known as a ‘satoshi’ in the case of Bitcoin – for the completion of easy tasks like filling in Captcha forms (click here to visit the site). It’s a great way to get started with Bitcoin.
The App Store” (CC BY 2.0) by PhotoAtelier
Digital Wallets
Returning to Apple, the Cupertino firm’s cautious stance on cryptocurrencies (and everything else) hasn’t really stopped the likes of Bitcoin finding an audience on iOS devices, and there are several digital wallet apps on the App Store. It’s worth noting that the presence of said apps is only a recent development (2014).
Breadwallet, for example, is arguably the most popular option available, largely because it omits middlemen and connects directly to the Bitcoin network. There’s also Airbitz and Mycelium, “the best, not the fanciest”, to quote the latter’s homepage. Wallets, like cryptocurrencies, ultimately have their own nuances and features that determine their audience.
As a final point, the rationale behind Apple’s slow uptake of cryptocurrencies is difficult to pin down. A couple of years ago, the company might have considered digital wallets in particular as competitors for its Apple Pay platform (before its launch). There’s also the fact that cryptocurrencies are unregulated, which means that they don’t play nice with Apple’s overly strict approach to third-party involvement with the App Store.
However, it may simply be that Apple was waiting for another company to take the plunge; after all, Microsoft, the firm’s biggest competitor, didn’t begin accepting Bitcoin until 2014, the same year Apple began to warm to the currency.