Bitcoin Wallet Apps Re-Enter iOS Store After Apple's Policy Shift

Reflecting Apple's new bitcoin-friendly stance, the first wallet and other apps allowing bitcoin purchases re-enter the iOS App Store.

AccessTimeIconJun 15, 2014 at 10:00 a.m. UTC
Updated Feb 21, 2023 at 1:13 p.m. UTC

Presented By Icon

Election 2024 coverage presented by

Stand with crypto

Apple is making good on its recent bitcoin policy shift, with a new bitcoin wallet app appearing for download in the iOS App Store.

The 'Coinpocket' app is described by its developer as a wrapper for a previously available open source HTML5 version, this time with full access to the camera hardware for QR code scanning.

  • Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
    Bitcoin Mining in the U.S. Will Become 'a Lot More Decentralized': Core Scientific CEO
  • Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
    Binance to Discontinue Its Nigerian Naira Services After Government Scrutiny
  • The first video of the year 2024
    The first video of the year 2024
  • The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
    The last regression video of the year 3.67.0
  • While its feature set is fairly basic, Coinpocket allows users to do anything they could do on previously-available iPhone wallet apps like Coinbase and Blockchain, which had gone some time without updates before being subsequently removed from the store.

    The company updated its policy last week to include 'approved' digital currencies.

    Features

    The new app does offer a function that allows the user to 'sweep' funds into wallet from a private key – useful for quick transfers of BTC – along with the ability to generate a BIP38 encrypted version of the private key (although this can take a long time, with some reddit users reporting crashes).

    EE3D77E7-024B-431D-9B32-0FF71501DE18.png

    Otherwise, Coinpocket offers simple send and receive functions and three different sources for current bitcoin price information.

    With Apple now approving bitcoin wallets, the race is on for developers to create and submit more fully-featured apps for the mobile OS that still has a significant market share in some of the world's richest markets.

    Users of previously popular apps, like Blockchain's which was downloaded over 120,000 times before being blocked, will now look forward to updates bringing their functionality closer to that of their Android cousins.

    In-app bitcoin purchases

    It's not just wallet apps finding new approval from Apple; others have appeared that allow bitcoin purchases from within the app, which also appear to avoid Apple's 30% share of all in-app purchase amounts rule.

    The eGifter app, for example, now allows users to purchase its gift cards directly with bitcoin, making the dream of spending bitcoin on Walmart purchases via an iOS device – impossible just a week or so ago – a reality.

    The first iOS app to allow in-app bitcoin spending was the simple betting game Betcoin, which appeared almost immediately after Apple's announcement. Its developer, Omri Cohen, said it was partly an experiment to test what Apple would allow, and was actually submitted before Apple's change of heart to a more favorable bitcoin attitude.

    Image via bloomua / Shutterstock

    Disclosure

    Please note that our privacy policy, terms of use, cookies, and do not sell my personal information have been updated.

    CoinDesk is an award-winning media outlet that covers the cryptocurrency industry. Its journalists abide by a strict set of editorial policies. CoinDesk has adopted a set of principles aimed at ensuring the integrity, editorial independence and freedom from bias of its publications. CoinDesk is part of the Bullish group, which owns and invests in digital asset businesses and digital assets. CoinDesk employees, including journalists, may receive Bullish group equity-based compensation. Bullish was incubated by technology investor Block.one.


    Learn more about Consensus 2024, CoinDesk's longest-running and most influential event that brings together all sides of crypto, blockchain and Web3. Head to consensus.coindesk.com to register and buy your pass now.