By the look of things, the ShapeShift application for iOS has been removed from the Apple App Store. Until a few days ago, anyone in the world could find and download the application with ease. Several Reddit users are reporting it is no longer showing up in search results. Quite an interesting development, as it seems, Apple is still holding a grudge against cryptocurrency.
Not too long ago, Apple finally allowed several cryptocurrency applications into their walled garden of applications. A few Bitcoin wallets were approved in quick succession. Other platforms, such as Shapeshift.io, saw their app gain approval as well. This makes converting between supported cryptocurrencies a lot easier.
Apple Picks Up The Ban Hammer Again
At the same time, there was a wave of malicious cryptocurrency wallets showing up in the App Store as well. Multiple clones of Breadwallet and others were discovered, none of which were legitimate. This put Apple in an awkward position, as they had to undertake action against these submissions. It looks like the company may have taken things one step too far once again.
By removing the ShapeShift app from the Apple Store, things are not looking overly positive for cryptocurrency right now. There is no official explanation as to why this is happening, or whether the app will be added again soon. Apple also took a rather hostile approach towards several cryptocurrencies supported by other applications.
The Jaxx wallet for iOS, for example, is not allowed to support DAO, Dash, or Ethereum Classic. All of these currencies somehow violate one of the company’s policies. Since Shapeshift supports these currencies as well, it is possible they were removed for similar reasons. For now, it is anybody’s guess as to what is going on, though.
For the time being, it appears the relationship between Apple and cryptocurrency will continue to be a very difficult one. The company has had its fair share of issues with cryptocurrency since day one and continues to make matters worse. We can only hope to see ShapeShift return sooner or later, but for now, that is not guaranteed by any means.
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