Bitcoin Apps May Be Allowed On Apple App Store

Bitcoin Apps May Be Allowed On Apple App Store

An update on the App Store review Guidelines of Apple appear to show that the tech giant may start to allow applications that deal with Bitcoins to be offered on the App Store.

The new update highlights that it will allow applications used in transmitting “approved virtual currencies provided these apps to not go against the law. One clause on the section for “Purchasing and Currencies” shows that the applications facilitating the transmission of these approved virtual currencies are allowed if they comply with state and federal laws where the application is used.

Countries have different views on the use of Bitcoins. Guidelines for the use of the virtual currency was issued by the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network of the Department of Treasury of the United States last year. It indicated that exchanges and administrators should follow its regulations.

Apple did not issue any statements or details in connection to its new guideline for the App Store.

The updated guideline was released as a line of new products of features were announced by Apple during the Worldwide Developers Conference held in San Francisco.

Apple was previously opposed to wallet applications for Bitcoins. It withdrew a number of apps from the App Store, including Blockchain, which remained on the App Store for two years before it was withdrawn. A blog entry by Blockchain last February criticized the anti-competitive nature of the policies of the App Store.

Apple also set its eyes on Gliph, a payment application for the virtual currency. The company requested the capability of transmitting the virtual currency from its app for the iOS 7. A blog post from Gliph developers indicated that it was uncertain about the effects of the updated guidelines on the App Store.

However, a number of supporters of the virtual currency were hopeful. Roger Ver, an investor of the virtual currency, indicated that Apple is expecting the increasing use of the Bitcoin and is preparing for it rather than being left behind.

Posted by James Fried on Thursday June 05 2014, 3:10 AM EST. Ref: PC World. Link. All trademarks acknowledged. Filed under Featured News, Finance. Comments and Trackbacks closed. Follow responses: RSS 2.0