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These Are the Six Crypto-Currencies Approved By Apple (softpedia.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the your-money's-no-good-here dept.

An anonymous reader quotes Softpedia: Anthony Di Iorio, founder of Jaxx, a crypto-currency wallet, claims that an Apple representative revealed to him the six crypto-currencies allowed on the App Store, during a private phone conversation... Di Iorio had this conversation with the Apple employee after the company removed his Jaxx iOS app from the store. The Apple employee told Di Iorio that they had to remove his app because it featured support for Dash, another blockchain technology, touted as an alternative to Bitcoin.

During the conversation, Di Iorio asked what crypto-currencies Apple approves of, so he'd know what to remove from Jaxx's iOS version and get his app back on the App Store. Di Iorio says that Apple is comfortable approving apps on its App Store that handle only six crypto-currencies: Bitcoin, Dogecoin, Litecoin, Ethereum, the DAO and Ripple. Reaction to Apple's list of approved crypto-currencies wasn't positive, at least on Twitter. Most users criticized Apple's decision to limit the list to only six, which they considered might thwart the evolution of other, lesser-known crypto-currencies.
Vitalik Buterin, who helped create Ethereum with Di lorio, tweeted "For the record: despite being a beneficiary of this instance of (private) regulatory protectionism, I oppose it."

74 comments

  1. ONE WORD! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    BLING!

  2. money laundering apps? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

    Limiting the currencies to well known, well used currencies will go some-way to stopping people using App Store apps to launder money between different currencies with apple providing the resources to do it.

    1. Re:money laundering apps? by lxs · · Score: 2, Funny

      People using the App Store to massively dodge taxes is still A-OK though. As long as the people involved are Tim Cook and friends.

  3. Who cares... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Really who cares!

    1. Re:Who cares... by stooo · · Score: 1

      Yep. We don't care about Apple

      --
      aaaaaaa
  4. What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Bitcoin barely exists, the others have such a tiny deployment that Apple will probably choose to integrate them into one of their products. Anything else so far below the radar they've run out of hole to dig.

    Why would you want a bunch of apps pretending to support financial operations in pretend currencies on your phone? Even the edging-towards-legit bitcoin is a security and support nightmare.

    1. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You're wrong. BitCoin has been one of the most widely successful currencies of all time. How many currencies other than the US dollar are used world-wide? Near zero. Comparatively other than the US dollar I can't buy anything with any other currency other than BitCoin and the US dollar here in New Hampshire. I buy lunch in BitCoins every day. I have a variety of restaurants to choose from. Pizza, Vegetarian, Vietnamese, Burgers, etc. I pay my employees in BitCoin, I buy my computers and electronics in BitCoin (yes, even locally). I even pay my car insurance in BitCoin. There are all sorts of places here that take BitCoin. Including a yoga study, barber, contractors, local farmers, accountants, and a bunch of others. Sorry. But the days that BitCoin hardly existed are gone. You may have a different experience than me, but that is because I'm in Keene, New Hampshire where BitCoins is bigger than anywhere else. It's bigger because of the Free State Project and libertarian / anarchist types moving here for freedom. And it certainly lives online as well as a world-currency.

      Any security and support nightmare? Ok.. you got me on that one. It's not made by Apple. Why on earth would you think it's 'hard to support'. It's not Apple who provides the support. But it's hardly hard to support. People here are using it every day and 99% of the people in this little old town of 30,000 people are the non-technical types.

      Security? It's safer than cash or storing your money in a bank. Not even the government can easily steal it from you. The government actually has to work at stealing it via seizures and such things. There are people here who escape the clutches of government seizures specifically because they don't use the US dollar. They use BitCoin. So security wise if you ask me it's much better than cash or a bank account. At least if you aren't utterly stupid. Though I suppose I would put iPhone users in the stupid category... but... none-the-less. For everybody else not so much.

    2. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      Hey fuckwit, the Euro, the Puond, the Aust dollar - all used world wide and now being joined by the Yuan as well as half a dozen other currencies.

      Bitcoin? Used by next to no one.

      Oh BTW you are a complete fucking liar, no one gets paid in Bitcoin, you dont employ anyone.

    3. Re:What's the problem? by guises · · Score: 5, Insightful

      It's basically just another reason to protest the walled garden model: the problem is not that support for these things has great value, the problem is that Apple is deciding what you can and can not do with your stuff.

      Apple should either allow them all, because it's none of their business how you waste your money, or ban them all, because you are helpless and need to be protected from your own stupidity. This half-assed approach, where Apple gives you the opportunity to screw yourself but only in an Apple-approved way, is the worst option of all.

    4. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You must be living under a rock.

    5. Re:What's the problem? by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      He must not be living in glorious Keene, NH?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    6. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      I've been working with in foreign exchange for 19 years now. Bitcoin is technically interesting but as an economic force is utterly negligible.

    7. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple should pay taxes just like every small entrepreneur. Apple makes billions and pays less taxes then my barber who only works half time. I'm not stupid because Apple controls what can run or not run on their platform. I'm stupid because I pay more taxes as a simple programmer then Apple with it's army of the best programmers of the world and I can't do anything about it.

    8. Re: What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I can't tell if this is satire or not.

    9. Re:What's the problem? by rossdee · · Score: 1

      If he's using the Aussie dollar he must be living under Ayers Rock

    10. Re: What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The best programmers of the world created itunes for windows? They produce the dogs breakfast that macos has become?

      Get over that smalltalk mysticism.

    11. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Go the fuck away, Rassah. The BT community is sick of your scamming.

    12. Re: What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's called Uluru now.

    13. Re: What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Lmao. There literally doesn't exist a currency that I can't use world wide. I might have to exhange it but all currencies are recognized in all countries. If I show up in Norway with Canadian dollars I still have perfect legitimate money. If I show up in Bumfuck, Australia or deep dark Siam with bitcoins I'm shit out of luck. Also, you live in a fantasy land if you pay people in Bitcoin and they accept it. LOLOLOLOLOLOLOL. Can we be real for two minutes please?

    14. Re: What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It was always Uluru, just not to the white folk who thought they found it.

    15. Re:What's the problem? by KingMotley · · Score: 1

      According to you, but the masses disagree.

    16. Re: What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is no Bumfuck in Australia. You must be thinking of the Netherlands.

    17. Re:What's the problem? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      apple, best programmers in the world? who's putting all the bugs and vulnerabilities in ios then?

    18. Re:What's the problem? by peawormsworth · · Score: 1

      Why would you want a bunch of apps pretending to support financial operations in pretend currencies on your phone? Even the edging-towards-legit bitcoin is a security and support nightmare.

      You summarize exactly why I don't like the iphone concept. I do not want my manufacturer deciding what is and isn't interesting software to put on my phone.

      You said it yourself, that the software is probably not popular. And then use that as a justification for your manufacturer to actively reject software from 3rd parties for a small segment of users. And then act like it a plus to have the manufacturer of your device to determine what is or is not important for you to run on it.

      You go ahead and keep your device that only runs products that are approved to be popular and approved to be the ones you must want. And you go ahead and convince yourself that you are better off that way.

  5. That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

    Apple should ban cryptocurrencies altogether. They're not used to purchase legitimate goods because nobody accepts them. The highly variable exchange rates virtually guarantee that nobody will want to accept them. They are, however, frequently used to purchase illicit goods and services through websites like the former Silk Road. Apple should do the right thing and ban cryptocurrencies altogether.

    1. Re: That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      first amendment > you

    2. Re:That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Apple employees need to get high too.

    3. Re:That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Most of everything you just said is plain wrong.

    4. Re:That's six too many by vossman77 · · Score: 3, Funny

      They are, however, frequently used to purchase illicit goods and services

      I bought some illicit bulk legos (from a small shop on bricklink) this week and we did not have to pay paypal processing fees, it was awesome. Me and my three year old were getting high building a castle.

    5. Re:That's six too many by vossman77 · · Score: 1

      I will concede that the major anonymouns coins: dash (formerly dark coin and the topic of this story), monero, and counterparty have shot up in price significantly over the past month, during a period where bitcoin has been mostly flat or fallen in value. I am not sure what is driving the increased price/market cap, but I assume the dark net is involved.

    6. Re:That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Tell that to Local Burger, Little Zoe's, Route 101 Local Goods, Bon Vivant, Uncommon Goods, ThinkPenguin, Inc, Corner News, Moda Suo Studio, Fox Agorist Taxicab, Bon Vivant Gourmet Stree, Thomas Caroll Garden Center, Crossroads Pizza and Sub, and a bunch of others in and around my little old town of 30,000 people (Keene, NH). In addition to these we have TWO BitCoin vending machines, a few barbers/hair salon places, realtor’s, accountants, contractors, farmers/local produce, and a bunch of other places taking BitCoin. There are people including myself who pay their employees wholly in BitCoin (per request, not because we forced it on them).

      If you have a problem spending BitCoin where you live and want freedom move to New Hampshire. We actually have a liberty-loving migration movement going on here and lots of businesses and individuals are accepting and spending BitCoin. All over New Hampshire you'll have no problem spending coin at 'legitimate' and illegal operations (we have a few unlicensed restaurants in Keene, NH as well).

    7. Re:That's six too many by Fnord666 · · Score: 2

      I will concede that the major anonymouns coins: dash (formerly dark coin and the topic of this story), monero, and counterparty have shot up in price significantly over the past month, during a period where bitcoin has been mostly flat or fallen in value. I am not sure what is driving the increased price/market cap, but I assume the dark net is involved.

      It may be the realization that bitcoin is not anonymous but there are newer alt-coins that have addressed that issue.

      --
      'The tyrant will always find pretext for his tyranny.' - Aesop's Fables
    8. Re:That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Apple should ban cryptocurrencies altogether.

      That would be true to form for Apple.

    9. Re:That's six too many by Zontar+The+Mindless · · Score: 1

      You do realise there are other places in the world other than Keene, NH--quite a few of them, in fact?

      --
      Il n'y a pas de Planet B.
    10. Re:That's six too many by dnaumov · · Score: 2

      Apple should ban cryptocurrencies altogether. They're not used to purchase legitimate goods because nobody accepts them. The highly variable exchange rates virtually guarantee that nobody will want to accept them. They are, however, frequently used to purchase illicit goods and services through websites like the former Silk Road. Apple should do the right thing and ban cryptocurrencies altogether.

      Yes, also ban guns, baseball bats and cars because they can be used for crimes too. Especially guns. They can kill people.

      P.S Why do you want to increase street violence levels by making it harder for sites like Silk Road to operate?

    11. Re:That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      We have a few millions 'liberty loving' people from North Africa and the middle east who can't find work to earn money in our 'unfree world where you can't buy everything with Bitcoin'. Can they move too to your libertarian utopia (that still profits from the 'evil' government for it's protection, safety and stability)?

    12. Re:That's six too many by 110010001000 · · Score: 1

      Just use aliexpress. That site is good for bulk lego. Free shipping too.

    13. Re:That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      A better use of your time would be learning grammar.

    14. Re:That's six too many by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 2

      > I am not sure what is driving the increased price/market cap,

      That's pretty simple. Bitcoin has a hard cap on block size of 1 MB. This was originally put in many years ago by Satoshi Nakamoto to limit spam attacks that would DDOS Bitcoin nodes. By the middle of this year actual user transactions were pushing the 1 MB cap, and the developers of the "Core" version of Bitcoin have refused to raise it. There are various theories about *why* they refuse to raise it (stupidity, financial conflicts of interest, etc.), but for discussing the impact on other cryptocurrencies it doesn't matter. Only the existence of the limit matters.

      In order to get into the limited space for new transactions, people have had to raise the transaction fee they offer. In turn, this has made alternate currencies cheaper to use, although Bitcoin still benefits from being the first mover and the network effect (more users, more apps and tools to use it). The alternate currencies are worth more now because traders predict a shift in usage if the cap on Bitcoin remains in place for long. At the same time, the majority of users are getting fed up with with a network limited to 14.4K dialup speeds (1 MB/10 minutes = 13,333 bits/second), so there are efforts to fork the Bitcoin software (it's open source) to something less restrictive. There still needs to be some kind of limit, because network nodes have to be able to relay and verify transactions in real time, but 1 MB/10 minutes isn't it.

    15. Re:That's six too many by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      They don't love liberty. What gave you that silly idea?

  6. Revealed to him... by Okian+Warrior · · Score: 1

    Anthony Di Iorio, founder of Jaxx, a crypto-currency wallet, claims that an Apple representative revealed to him the six crypto-currencies allowed on the App Store, during a private phone conversation...

    Is it my imagination, or did this remind anyone else of the story of Joseph Smith?

    Or perhaps the story of John Ballou Newbrough?

    (Gordon Stein in the book Encyclopedia of Hoaxes (1993) noted that the revelations of Apple have not been taken seriously because they were revealed to contain "many factual errors and unfulfilled prophecies.")

    1. Re:Revealed to him... by lxs · · Score: 1

      I'll have you know that these proclamations were channeled directly from The Great Steve In The Sky using a 60" iPad prototype as a ouya board and Steve's own Newton as a planchette.

    2. Re: Revealed to him... by Bing+Tsher+E · · Score: 1

      Steve hated Newton and killed it soon after NeXT acquired Apple.

  7. The Hexalogue by PopeRatzo · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Is it my imagination, or did this remind anyone else of the story of Joseph Smith [wikipedia.org]?

    It reminds me more of this story:

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

    But the literature is full of men who have been given special information secretly from on high and then endeavor to bring it to the masses. In this case, the deity happened to be Apple.

    --
    You are welcome on my lawn.
  8. Six Ways by jmhysong · · Score: 3, Informative

    That's six ways to lose all your money when the exchange gets robbed.

    1. Re:Six Ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      If you have your own wallet that you are keeping your funds in, what does an exchange getting hacked have to do with anything? (Hint: absolutely nothing.)

    2. Re:Six Ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, you frighten me. The electronic version of a "wallet" shares but the name with its physical counterpart. Other than that, the "money" stored in it is just data. A view into what some remote system thinks you have the right to spend. If that system decided you have no rights whatsoever, gone your money is. Indeed, they might just show you some nice (or ugly) pictures instead.

      In other words, if the exchange is hacked, your money is gone. (hint: forever)

    3. Re:Six Ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Wow you clearly have absolutely no idea how this crypto currency stuff works.

    4. Re:Six Ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Dude, you frighten me. The electronic version of a "wallet" shares but the name with its physical counterpart. Other than that, the "money" stored in it is just data. A view into what some remote system thinks you have the right to spend. If that system decided you have no rights whatsoever, gone your money is. Indeed, they might just show you some nice (or ugly) pictures instead.

      In other words, if the exchange is hacked, your money is gone. (hint: forever)

      No, you are very wrong about this. It all boils down to who has the private key. If you control your own private key that has values attached and that key is not on some exchange, then you are in no danger from some exchange being hacked. If you foolishly use the exchanges' private key assigned to your created account to store your all of your values, then when that exchange get's blown up, you'll more than likely take a loss from a hack // theft of some kind. Even more to the point, most large robberies have been from attacking the hot wallet, basically the private key that holds the exchanges' funds in active use. To be fair, having your own wallet is not 100% safe (esp in bitcoin, there are some people who guess private keys systematically and then empty said wallets) but it's much less of an issue than storing your values on some private key that you don't even control.

    5. Re:Six Ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Indeed! That's why I keep all my cash in my mattress! Those evil capitalistic swines will never get their hands on my property!

    6. Re:Six Ways by TeknoHog · · Score: 1

      But when a bank gets robbed (or more likely, when a bank loses money on investments) then every taxpayer loses.

      Also, pro tip: don't keep your life savings in an exchange.

      --
      Escher was the first MC and Giger invented the HR department.
    7. Re:Six Ways by geekmux · · Score: 0

      That's six ways to lose all your money when the exchange gets robbed.

      A crytocurrency exchange gets "robbed", and because it's "digital", those in charge quickly label it a crime, and look to go after and prosecute the offenders to the fullest extent of the law.

      World Bankers collude together on lending practices creating a global economic crisis, and because it's "politics", those in charge dismiss any discussions about criminal wrongdoing, and instead impose slap-on-the-wrist fines that penalize 0.01% of the profits turned from immoral and unethical activity.

      I'm so glad you feel your money is safe otherwise.

    8. Re:Six Ways by DanielRavenNest · · Score: 2

      Banks insure depositors by paying into the FDIC insurance fund. Most of the time when a bank goes belly-up, the insurance covers it. It's only when many banks get in trouble at the same time, as happened during the Financial Crisis a decade ago, that the Federal Reserve and Treasury stepped in to bail them out.

      As of July 2016, The Treasury's Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) has collected about $8 billion more than it paid out, representing about a 2% profit on the $400 billion disbursed. The program isn't over yet, so we don't know the final impact on taxpayers, but they haven't lost *yet*

      https://www.treasury.gov/initi...

    9. Re:Six Ways by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There is a difference in that you can make multiple copies of a bitcoin wallet, in case you lose one. And you can, if you choose, protect it with a passphrase that is harder to crack than any safe.

  9. Six is ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Many cryptocurrencies are flat out scams. Arguably, they all are. By limiting the supported ones to a list of ones that are at least generally believed to be "legit" and beneficial to SOMEONE, they have done a lot of good work, and saved their users the hassle of being tricked by Trumpcoin or some really scammy one.

    Yea yea yea, it's not super free and open. But given what cryptocurrencies do with that, who really cares? Apple doesn't owe you a living, or a free lunch.

    1. Re:Six is ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1

      There are perfectly legitimate crypto currencies coming out that won't be permitted on Apple's devices. I say Appe's devices because it becomes abundantly clear whose devices these really are. They are not the user's devices, but Apples.

      z.cash for instance is actually designed to be anonymous and has the math behind it, the people behind it, financials, and years of work from major universities to back it up (proofs, etc).

    2. Re:Six is ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      > perfectly legitimate crypto currencies

      I doubt you could prove that they are "legitimate".

      > They are not the user's devices, but Apples

      You can sideload whatever you want. This is about the developer wanting Apple to list his product on their store, and they have standards that exclude it. What's unreasonable about that? Again, YOU can go load it on YOUR iphone. You just can't compel Apple to list it.

      I'll look into z.cash. But seriously, every crypto currency is just plated wall to wall with scams, and some of them are JUST scams. Apple's position is reasonable.

    3. Re:Six is ok by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      You can't prove anything legitimate ever, you can only prove that something is illegitimate.
      You can strongly infer that something is probably legitimate, due to being unable to prove that it is illegitimate - but this is not the same as proving it it legitimate.

    4. Re:Six is ok by geekmux · · Score: 0

      ...But seriously, every crypto currency is just plated wall to wall with scams, and some of them are JUST scams. Apple's position is reasonable.

      Apple's position is "reasonable" because there's simply no way in hell that their six choices are political, right?

      Your ignorance is showing.

  10. Dash possible competitor to apple pay? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Sure, Dash is not quite as 'ready' (and I say that loosely) to be used in lieu of apple pay, but perhaps they view it as a competitor and do not want it available? /tinfoilconspiracy

  11. why not PPC? Truly revolutionary, not just a copy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    why not PPC? Truly revolutionary, not just a copy

  12. Coming Soon: Gas Stations and Department Stores by bill_mcgonigle · · Score: 0

    "To protect its users, Apple has decided to limit purchases with its Apple Pay product to Target and Mobil, after receiving numerous complaints about customer experience at Walmart and Shell."

    You wanted a walled garden, you got a walled garden. Enjoy it.
    .

    --
    My God, it's Full of Source!
    OUTSIDE_IP=$(dig +short my.ip @outsideip.net)
  13. Dogecoin? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I thought dogecoin was a joke?
    Does this mean that somebody, somewhere has actually made a legit business transfer using "funny money"?

    1. Re:Dogecoin? by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

      I'll have you know that I have many thousands of Dogecoins, currently worth dozens of american dollars.

    2. Re:Dogecoin? by mccalli · · Score: 1

      Dogecoin was, and is, a joke. People taking part in it know this and do it for fun - I have a handful of coins worth...err....hmm. Well, I'm sure I'll find enough decimal places somewhere.

      That doesn't mean it hasn't done real things though: Josh Wise and the Dogecar being one of the more notable. It has also provided clean water in Kenya and sent the Jamaican bobsled team to the Winter Olympics (source). So yeah - it's a joke. It's a good one though, and has done some good things.

  14. Why six cryptocurrencies? Why not zero? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Given that Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies are the currencies of choice for crime is there any real point to supporting them?

    Does Apple need drug addicts as customers that badly? Since when were money launderers, pimps, and drug dealers valuable to Apple?

  15. Re: why not PPC? Truly revolutionary, not just a c by BitZtream · · Score: -1

    They have a bad taste in their mouth from the last episode with PPC chips?

    --
    Persistent Volume manager for Kubernetes - https://github.com/dwimsey/openshift-pvmanager
  16. Damn, Where am I going to unload all the Coinye's? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coinye

  17. #7 is in the works ... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... they can't figure out whether to call it AppleCoin or TimCookCoin.

  18. Question to all iOS users by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    (I don't give a fuck about Dash. I don't even know what it is.)

    iOs users, why do you care so much about what currencies Apple cares about? We normally choose whatever we want, or we're apathetic and don't choose anything. But you people make a big point of, and spend a lot of extra money, to have Apple decide these things for you, and you never even get their justifications: you just defer to them.

    Why? What great wisdom did this company once show, that made you decide they should be your decider?

  19. Re:Damn, Where am I going to unload all the Coinye by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    You can unload them into Kim Kardashian's ass, it's used to being unloaded into.

  20. Re: why not PPC? Truly revolutionary, not just a c by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    It's bitztream, the autism-hating Slashdot troll!

  21. Hypocrisy by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    The same ppl that whine about Uber taking the jobs away from Taxi drivers,
    Will turn around & whine about Apple being "protectionist."

    The difference is, one is the gov, one is not. And of course, good liberals always support government protectionism.

  22. Re:Damn, Where am I going to unload all the Coinye by Yvan256 · · Score: 1

    Forget your Coinye, what about my Flappycoins?