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Apps allowing users to transfer and monitor cryptocurrency have re-appeared on Apple’s iOS App Store, following the lifting of a ban on digital currency by the firm.
Apple had previously banned apps for the iPhone and iPad that allowed owners of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Dogecoin and Litecoin to manage their virtual funds.
However, the company recently had a change of heart, and announced at its WWDC 2014 event that a new change to its App Store guidelines would mean that apps using virtual currencies ‘approved’ by Apple would be allowed back into the store.
“Apps may facilitate transmission of approved virtual currencies provided that they do so in compliance with all state and federal laws for the territories in which the app functions,” states the emendation.
Since the rules U-turn, several apps have begun to pop up for purchase on the store.
‘Coin Pocket’, the first such app to appear since the change, allows users to send and receive Bitcoin and other virtual currencies, as well as monitoring their balance.
Other apps have taken advantage of the new approval of in-app purchases paid for with Bitcoin, which dodge the usual 30 per cent transaction charge taken by Apple.
Apple’s apparent embracing of digital currency follows the steady growth and rising popularity of cryptocurrencies, with some retailers in the UK beginning to accept virtual cash in exchange for real products.
