Apple sticks the boot into Bitcoin with Blockchain removal
Apple has removed the last Bitcoin wallet from its iOS app stores. The tech giant offered no explanation for the removal of UK-based Blockchain other than it was due to an "unresolved issue."
The application had been available on the iOS app store for over two years and was downloaded over 120,000 times.
Blockchain responded furiously to the move, issuing a statement on its blog:
These actions by Apple once again demonstrate the anti-competitive and capricious nature of the App Store policies that are clearly focused on preserving Apple’s monopoly on payments rather than based on any consideration of the needs and desires of their users.
The company said Apple had taken the step because Bitcoin represented a threat to its own payment system.
The arena of Bitcoin wallets has now been left entirely to Apple's rivals, such as Google's Android. The move completes a series of anti-Bitcoin moves by Apple, which has in the past removed Coinbase and CoinJar from its iOS app store.
In a pointed start to their furious condemnation of Apple's decision, Blockchain reminded Apple of one of its most famous statements:
Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward.
Apple's decision may come as a disappointment to Bitcoin enthusiasts but there has been no shortage of companies willing to embrace the digital currency in recent months.
In January, the world's largest social investment network, eToro, announced that its members would be able to invest in the cryptocurrency. Online retailer Overstock.com also took the plunge and decided to accept Bitcoin. In the first 90 minutes of Bitcoin sales, the site received around 150 orders.