Why Apple Is Rejecting Bitcoin Apps

It seems like everyone wants to chime in with their opinions on Bitcoin - "It's a scam," or "It's the future," etc. - but Apple has so far maintained its famous silence when it comes to the anonymous digital currency that's got heads turned across industries.

This post from TechCrunch calls attention to how Apple has thus far treated Bitcoin-related apps when they're submitted for App Store approval. In short, not well.

Coinbase and Gliph are two higher-profile companies dealing in Bitcoin - Coinbase is a Bitcoin exchange for buying and selling the digital currency, and Gliph, a mobile payments app set up to handle Bitcoin transactions. The Coinbase app was removed from the App Store entirely and Apple requested that Gliph get rid of its app's Bitcoin functionality, despite letting it operate unencumbered for the previous seven months.

So even though Apple hasn't explicitly stated it won't allow Bitcoin apps, its behavior certainly sends a clear message. This is not to say that Apple will always reject Bitcoin apps, but that Apple is simply protecting itself from legal repercussions until regulators can come to some sort of consensus on how to treat the digital currency.

Here are the salient details from the TechCrunch post:

The rejection, [Gliph CEO Rob] Banagale notes, was based largely off of section 22.1 of Apple's App Store review guidelines. The rule states that "apps must comply with all legal requirements in any location where they are made available to users. It is the developer's obligation to understand and conform to all local laws."

Bitcoin is not illegal, but it is also not legally recognized by governments as a currency. This gray area is what is leading Apple to reject Bitcoin-transaction apps.