[2022-03-30] Apple is rumored to announce support for Bitcoin payments

[safar1980]

It could turn the market: Apple is rumored to announce support for Bitcoin payments as early as next week
The Miami Bitcoin Conference (Bitcoin 2022) is scheduled to take place April 6-9. At this event, Jack Mullers, CEO of Strike, and Apple are rumored to be able to make a very high-profile joint statement that will turn the market.
Sourse:
https://digitnews.in/it-could-turn-the-market-apple-is-rumored-to-announce-support-for-bitcoin-payments-as-early-as-next-week/

[bbc.reporter]

There was a picture that Jack Mallers shared in social media where he was in front of the Chase Manhattan bank wearing a baseball cap with the word apple. I reckon it was only to honor Steve Jobs where he also had his picture taken in front of IBM headquarters. I thought it was only a joke.

[bakasabo]

That would be nice if Apple would accept bitcoin as a payment for their goods, or integrate Bitcoin payments in their Wallet app. It is high time to implement such option, as number of mobile apps and their popularity are growing. That is something should not be ignored. But after seeing, how from year to year, Apple release same iPhones in different wrapping and minor updates, how the quality of mac has decreased, I have real doubts that any soon Apple will come up with something new or announce new features.

[davis196]

This seems like fake news to me.There isn't any valid evidence about those rumors.
Apple always had a more self-sustained business model.
They usually don't want to rely on other companies(except when they are outsourcing production in Asian countries) and they don't want to use technologies over which they don't have control.
Apple is the kind of company that would create their own "applecoin",rather than adopting Bitcoin or some altcoin.
I don't mind them adopting BTC payments,but there's no reason for them to do so.Who is going to use Bitcoin to buy an iPhone or Mac?Everyone is expecting the BTC price to hit another ATH sooner or later.

[SFR10]

This seems like fake news to me.There isn't any valid evidence about those rumors.

When Natalie Brunell interviewed him last week, he gave a hint by mentioning his tweet while also saying "we need to get more merchants on board".
@safar1980
There's a small error in the subject field ^[20202].

[safar1980]

Fixed.

Will Apple make payments itself or will it work through partners with a license to work with cryptocurrencies?
Such capabilities of the company will bring a lot of users to this market, but most likely it will be another custodial service.

[bbc.reporter]

I am beginning to be afraid that this news might be nothing but rumors according to sauces and not actual rumors bases on real sources. Does anyone remember the influencer @Altcoingordon's joke where he tweeted an announcement that Apple would purchase $2.5 billion of bitcoin according to sauces?



Source https://mobile.twitter.com/AltcoinGordon/status/1413587993881894913

[SFR10]

Will Apple make payments itself or will it work through partners with a license to work with cryptocurrencies?

From the look of things, it's going to be the latter, but it's also worth noting that enabling BTCitcoin payments through Strike doesn't mean all of us can use their services ^{[unfortunately, it's limited to users in the "US (except for two states), El Salvador and Argentina"]}.

[PrivacyG]

I am beginning to be afraid that this news might be nothing but rumors according to sauces and not actual rumors bases on real sources. Does anyone remember the influencer @Altcoingordon's joke where he tweeted an announcement that Apple would purchase $2.5 billion of bitcoin according to sauces?

Was that one not back when billionaires like Musk, MicroStrategy et cetera announced they were purchasing Bitcoin?  I remember this rumor about Apple but as far as I can remember, it was an attempt to feed the hype even more positive rumors about other giants joining the crib.

-
Regards,
PrivacyG

[bbc.reporter]

@PrivacyG. That joke by @Altcoingordon was during the big dump after the first big pump of 2021. He was bored and shared in social media with the word sauces which implies that it was only a joke. However, youtubers and other influencers began creating videos and retweeted the joke assuming it was real hehehe. This is one of the examples of the stupidity in the cryptospace. Influencers will do anything for attention.

[cr1776]

I hate to say it, but I will only believe it when I see it.  There have been so many rumors over the years that it seems unlikely.  Certainly it would be nice given the uptake on Apple Cash/Apple Pay, but I won't believe it until it comes true.

An ETF approval, more uptake of things like Taro to increase usage and stuff like that are important too.

[stompix]

After the fake news with Amazon and Walmart, the proven wrong rumors about Malaysia and Honduras making bitcoin legal tender which all those so-called crypto influencers were claiming as a clear given I wouldn't trust these ones even if I see Steve Jobs landing on Earth with a BTC instead of a halo and saying they will do so.

I feel like the whole press is in desperate need of something fantastic to happen, they need big titles, they need huge names in the articles the other way you won't get a cent from ads. It's either full laser eyes top 10 companies in the world or nothing. Never ceases to amaze me how some no-name journalist who to date has only managed to write 10 lines articles for 5$  now suddenly has access and insider information to the largest companies in the world. Thousands of analyses are unable to find out even what size the new iPhone will have with millions of them already produced but they know about Apple's future plans.
And they can't even manage to spell the guy's name right.

The Miami Bitcoin Conference (Bitcoin 2022) is scheduled to take place April 6-9. At this event, Jack Mullers, CEO of Strike, and Apple are rumored to be able to make a very high-profile joint statement that will turn the market.

[bbc.reporter]

I hate to say it, but I will only believe it when I see it.  There have been so many rumors over the years that it seems unlikely.  Certainly it would be nice given the uptake on Apple Cash/Apple Pay, but I won't believe it until it comes true.

An ETF approval, more uptake of things like Taro to increase usage and stuff like that are important too.

Everyone was waiting for Jack Mallers to announce something in the conference. However, there was nothing about Apple.

[SFR10]

However, there was nothing about Apple.

Actually, there was something about Apple Pay and Apple card ^{[14:42 - 15:52]}, but it had nothing to do with a new partnership with Apple
^{- I'm a bit disappointed since I was expecting to see an announcement about the subject in question, but I did like seeing that they've partnered with Blackhawk Network and NCR [can't say the same for the Shopify part since they're not the first one].}

[Kakmakr]

I will believe this when I see a formal announcement from the CEO on public media channels and not rumours through the grapevine that almost always turns out to be FUD. 

In any way.... this cannot be a global initiative... because a lot of countries does not accept Bitcoin as legal tender... so they would be breaking the local laws, if they do that.    (We might see Apple doing the same as some large corporations, where they allow Bitcoin payment in countries where Bitcoin is accepted as legal tender.... like El Salvador and soon Madeira ...etc) 

[bbc.reporter]

However, there was nothing about Apple.

Actually, there was something about Apple Pay and Apple card ^{[14:42 - 15:52]}, but it had nothing to do with a new partnership with Apple
^{- I'm a bit disappointed since I was expecting to see an announcement about the subject in question, but I did like seeing that they've partnered with Blackhawk Network and NCR [can't say the same for the Shopify part since they're not the first one].}

I am afraid it was more hype than reality. Everyone was expecting Apple to have more to do with bitcoin, or something similar to Tesla where they hold bitcoin in their treasury hehehe.

[dansus021]

this would be great news even tho is only local, but i dont know with regulation back year ago xiaomi in portugal announce same thing but at the end they dont accept crypto

i think is good start with crypto regulated country and start accept stablecoin to avoid price volatilty

[PrimeNumber7]

I really don't see how apple could provide any more support for bitcoin payments than they already do. There are already multiple both custodial and non-custodial apps available on the iTunes app store, and people can already download and use those to make bitcoin payments and to receive bitcoin (and altcoins). The only thing apple really could do is integrate bitcoin payments in iMessage, but this would almost certainly be a non-custodial implementation.

I don't think apple would implement any bitcoin app that is custodial because people losing their coin when they inevitably lose their private keys (such as looisng their phone and not having backups) would damage apple's brand.

[bbc.reporter]

@PrimeNumber7. Agreed, Apple is doing good to support the users.. However, as Apple as being this walled garden, it can also be argued that the market demand for everything related to the cryptospace has caused them not to have a choice. Users will buy Android devices if they do not accomodate the users of this new market.

[cr1776]

@PrimeNumber7. Agreed, Apple is doing good to support the users.. However, as Apple as being this walled garden, it can also be argued that the market demand for everything related to the cryptospace has caused them not to have a choice. Users will buy Android devices if they do not accomodate the users of this new market.

I'd like Apple to support it now, but I think this is going to be a longer game with Apple.  Eventually they will support it, and hopefully do it well.  With the security features in the iPhone (secure enclave etc) it is a good platform to secure private keys.   (Although not key on device encrypted iCloud backups due to their caving the the FBI et al. so one would want iCloud backups to be turned off.)  Like the mp3 adoption, they didn't support it immediately, it took time, but it can be argued that the iPod and follow ons like the iPhone did it nicely.

Let's hope a similar scenario happens with crypto.
 

[NotATether]

Apple always had a more self-sustained business model.
They usually don't want to rely on other companies(except when they are outsourcing production in Asian countries) and they don't want to use technologies over which they don't have control.

This exactly. The most that will come out of this will probably be integrating support for some payment proessor like Bitpay into their payments system (like Microsoft and others).

[PrimeNumber7]

I'd like Apple to support it now, but I think this is going to be a longer game with Apple. 
 

Again, I am not sure how one could argue that apple does not support bitcoin payments on the iPhone. It is already possible to use a wallet app on your iPhone to send/receive bitcoin (and most altcoins). How else could apple support bitcoin payments?

[Lucius]

Again, I am not sure how one could argue that apple does not support bitcoin payments on the iPhone. It is already possible to use a wallet app on your iPhone to send/receive bitcoin (and most altcoins). How else could apple support bitcoin payments?

In that case we can say that every device that supports the installation of a crypto wallet supports Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency? The point here is that Apple could/should accept Bitcoin as a means of payment for its products, so customers could pay for everything on this site with Bitcoin. Given that some important shareholders of a company like Buffett are against Bitcoin, I don't see how and why Apple should accept Bitcoin at that level.

[PrimeNumber7]

Again, I am not sure how one could argue that apple does not support bitcoin payments on the iPhone. It is already possible to use a wallet app on your iPhone to send/receive bitcoin (and most altcoins). How else could apple support bitcoin payments?

In that case we can say that every device that supports the installation of a crypto wallet supports Bitcoin or some other cryptocurrency? The point here is that Apple could/should accept Bitcoin as a means of payment for its products, so customers could pay for everything on this site with Bitcoin. Given that some important shareholders of a company like Buffett are against Bitcoin, I don't see how and why Apple should accept Bitcoin at that level.

Yes, I would generally say that most (every?) mobile devices have support for bitcoin/crypto.

You can currently buy Apple gift cards on bitrefill (and other crypto to gift card sites) using your crypto. I don't see Apple accepting bitcoin directly for their products because doing so would only add to their compliance and sales support costs, and probably would not bring in many additional sales they would otherwise have.