Apple updated its policy for developers to allow Bitcoin wallets and in-app Bitcoin payments, and now the first apps taking advantage of that shift are live in the App Store. Coindesk reports that Coin Pocket is the first standalone Bitcoin wallet app to become available for iOS. The basic app allows users to send and receive Bitcoin, check the price, and collect private keys into a single spot and encrypt them. CoinPocket circumvented Apple’s crackdown by being available as an HTML5 app inside mobile web browsers but, now fully approved, it has access to a device’s camera for QR code scanning. In addition, eGifter is one of the first general purpose apps to add Bitcoin payments following Apple’s change. Users can now buy gift cards for over 200 brands using the virtual currency.
A new Bitcoin wallet app is climbing up the charts in Apple’s App Store after a prohibition on such apps ended recently. The app, Coin Pocket, made its debut on Friday and is already ranked No. 74 on the list of the top free iPhone apps in the finance category of the App Store. Apple permitted people Bitcoin wallets to live in the App Store earlier this month, following the tech giant’s systematic exile of similar apps from the App Store in previous months. Most recently, Appledropped Blockchain from the App Store in February. The Coin Pocket app, from developer Mike Enriquez of Ohio, lets people send and receive Bitcoins on iPhones and iPads. “Check your state and federal laws on the transmission of Bitcoin or virtual currencies before using the send feature of this app. You are liable for the use of Bitcoin in your jurisdiction,” the app’s description reads. That makes sense, considering that Apple is keen on regulatory compliance for virtual currency apps. Apple’s new App Store guidelines mandate that such applications must be permissible under state and federal laws in place where people use them. Several people have offered positive feedback of the app on Reddit and in the App Store itself.
