So Apple is letting Bitcoin back in.

[ArticMine]

Let me get this. Apple stopped its DRM based attack on Bitcoin when the BTC/USD rate was around 600. This allows us GNU/Linux and Android/Linux users who have being buying BTC all along at say well under 10 USD per BTC to sell to IOS users at say at 10000% profit or more.  

Edit: So the new top 1% wealthy are those who choose FLOSS based operating systems, such as GNU/Linux, while the other 99% are those who choose propriety operating systems such as those sold by Microsoft and Apple.

[CoolBliss]

This is the 100000 post about blockchain app

[logger]

"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

[Curavi]

Maybe they realized that Bitcoin users who are serious about carrying cryptocurrencies around on a tablet were going to switch to Android. The Blockchain app is back in their store. http://www.wired.com/2014/07/blockchain-back/?mbid=social_fb

They are too late for me.

I already bought an android replacement for my iOS device specifically because I needed an easy way to carry bitcoins around and Apple was blocking bitcoin wallets.

They lost me as a customer and aren't likely to get me back anytime soon.  I'm probably not the only one.  This was a big mistake on Apple's part.  Perhaps Bitcoin is still in the early adoption phase, and they'll be able to capture a lot of future business, but I suspect they'll feel the pain of their decision for a while.

I feel you on that one. Apple's decisions sometimes just utterly baffle me. Guess that's what you can do if you have $100B in the bank...

[mrcashking]

Yeah they forced alot of crypto fanatics to switch to android.  I guess they see the overall potential now. To make money that is.

[wasserman99]

I don't think Apple is supporting bitcoin. As bitcoin is well known now, they don't want to be labeled the platform which does not allow bitcoin apps.

They are supporting it enough to allow wallet apps in the app store. That is good enough for me.

I think this is the important part of apple supporting Bitcoin. If they allow BTC wallets in the app store then people will be able to receive and spend bitcoin using their iPhone. I think this would increase the adoption rate of bitcoin and will likely connivence more merchants to accept bitcoin.

[NotAtOld]

"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

I have extensive, direct, front-row experience with getting difficult apps into the store (though not Bitcoin-related).

The pattern you describe "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" is very accurate. The app is pulled while somebody high up figures out what the policy is going to be. Often the policy involves setting up safeguards (that you may or may not have already implemented) for abuse, user privacy, legal compliance, etc. These new guidelines are then consistently applied throughout the store (although some of them are unwritten and never make it into the official list.)

[NotAtOld]

"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

This process is slow, and not very transparent. However as a person who has been on the receiving end many times I think it is a net positive for the end customer. Sure, I would prefer a system that is both transparent and safe, but it's not so bad really.

[illymoka]

"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

That sounds right. Especially given the rumor that Apple is cooking up their own mobile payment service. I guess when you try to do something like this, the lawyers and other higher ups need to figure a lot of things out first. And this bitcoin business looks like it falls somewhere either within this scope or at least very very close to it. I think they needed this time to get a comprehensive look what they were planning re: mobile payments and how bitcoin dealing might be affected by this.

[cccarnation]

"Today, he acknowledges that Apple’s about-face could be related to changes in the regulatory environment, but he thinks Apple’s new attitude comes down to one thing: Android."

I'd imagine nearly no one is buying Android phones because you can get a Bitcoin app for them. Chances are good Apple's lawyers said "shut it down, we need to figure this out first" and this is the end result. No conspiracy theories required.

Lets not forget iPhone in available on more networks in US because of Android threat . More App's (By that I mean both in number and Quality) available on Android than iOS is not something Apple would want to become a common theme. That alone already made them more open and will continue to do so.

[PalmerLaura]

Be warned, the security of this app is not great. It stores your Blockchain.info password and your app's PIN in plaintext on your phone, retrievable over USB. It also stores an encrypted copy of your Bitcoin wallet right next to the plaintext password (which can be used to decrypt the wallet). I haven't checked, but I imagine these files might be included in iTunes backups of the device too.

[PalmerLaura]

The sandbox keeps it safe from other apps, but you are 100% insecure on a jailbroken device.

They did add a new PIN lock to the app, but again this is not used to encrypt your private key and is only a UI lock.

[StatusSeeking]

Perhaps this time they didn't blatantly violate Apple's rules by including major functionality that was completely hidden until enabled on the server, and not turning that on until after review. Apple wants to review the app users are going to see.
Previous discussion from back when that happened: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7194085

[JypsiCreme]

Be warned, the security of this app is not great. It stores your Blockchain.info password and your app's PIN in plaintext on your phone, retrievable over USB. It also stores an encrypted copy of your Bitcoin wallet right next to the plaintext password (which can be used to decrypt the wallet). I haven't checked, but I imagine these files might be included in iTunes backups of the device too.

The sandbox keeps it safe from other apps, but you are 100% insecure on a jailbroken device.

They did add a new PIN lock to the app, but again this is not used to encrypt your private key and is only a UI lock.

That does sound pretty poor. However, if the app stores its data in /Documents and you have a lock on your phone (preferably complex passphrase / touch ID) then the app's data should be encrypted on your device.

[mamarried]

Be warned, the security of this app is not great. It stores your Blockchain.info password and your app's PIN in plaintext on your phone, retrievable over USB. It also stores an encrypted copy of your Bitcoin wallet right next to the plaintext password (which can be used to decrypt the wallet). I haven't checked, but I imagine these files might be included in iTunes backups of the device too.

The sandbox keeps it safe from other apps, but you are 100% insecure on a jailbroken device.

They did add a new PIN lock to the app, but again this is not used to encrypt your private key and is only a UI lock.

That does sound pretty poor. However, if the app stores its data in /Documents and you have a lock on your phone (preferably complex passphrase / touch ID) then the app's data should be encrypted on your device.

They should really just store the private key and password in the keychain, it's super simple to do.

[abora]

Its good to know Apple is back. The new app is better designed

[smashingpumpkin]

Be warned, the security of this app is not great. It stores your Blockchain.info password and your app's PIN in plaintext on your phone, retrievable over USB. It also stores an encrypted copy of your Bitcoin wallet right next to the plaintext password (which can be used to decrypt the wallet). I haven't checked, but I imagine these files might be included in iTunes backups of the device too.

The sandbox keeps it safe from other apps, but you are 100% insecure on a jailbroken device.

They did add a new PIN lock to the app, but again this is not used to encrypt your private key and is only a UI lock.

That does sound pretty poor. However, if the app stores its data in /Documents and you have a lock on your phone (preferably complex passphrase / touch ID) then the app's data should be encrypted on your device.

Didn't the recent "scandal" about those usb "backdoor" services show that this isn't good enough; you need to set those explicit NSFileProtectionComplete attributes?

[AlPutino]

Perhaps this time they didn't blatantly violate Apple's rules by including major functionality that was completely hidden until enabled on the server, and not turning that on until after review. Apple wants to review the app users are going to see.
Previous discussion from back when that happened: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7194085

Oh, bull. It'd be significantly easier to use credit cards for IAP than Bitcoin. Apple prevents this easily with the review process

[FlowerMatt]

Perhaps this time they didn't blatantly violate Apple's rules by including major functionality that was completely hidden until enabled on the server, and not turning that on until after review. Apple wants to review the app users are going to see.
Previous discussion from back when that happened: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=7194085

That may be the case, but did any of the banned Bitcoin apps actually try to do IAP? How would Bitcoin IAP work, given the lack of inter-app communication in iOS?

[BowieMan]

This is a great thing! I really do prefer Apple over Android and Windows phones! I think it is easier to use. People with Android phones always have tons of extensions showing them their CPU usage and memory footprint. I don't want to take care of those things if I'm using my freaking phone. It should just work and be fast and simple!