Apple’s App Store policies, according to Brian Armstrong, CEO of Coinbase, have impeded the company’s product plan. He blamed Apple for prohibiting features from their app and overall being unfriendly to the crypto business.
Brian Armstrong Bashes Apple
On a recent episode of the Superstream Podcast, Coinbase’s CEO and co-founder Brian Armstrong chastised Apple for “potential antitrust issues”
Armstrong came on the Superstream Podcast on April 20 to discuss the current situation of cryptocurrency, entrepreneurship, and Coinbase, the firm he cofounded.
Before going on to criticize Apple, he implied that crypto investors would one day be able to utilize “crypto-compatible” devices with special hardware characteristics built-in.
He claimed that “Apple so far has not really played nice with crypto” claiming that the business had disallowed a number of features that they wanted in the app but that Apple would not allow.
“Apple so far has not really played nice with crypto, they have actually banned a bunch of features that we would like to have in the app, but they just won’t allow it – so there’s potential antitrust issues there,” he said.
When asked if Coinbase would ever release its own hardware wallet, Armstrong revealed the information. He claimed that the company already has a co-branded hardware wallet with Ledger, but that the two big mobile operating systems need to expand their ecosystem of products to include crypto.
Related article | Apple Removes Trust Wallet from Its App Store. Here’s Why
Crypto-compatible Phones Are Good For Crypto
When asked if Coinbase would create its own cryptocurrency hardware wallet, Armstrong said he doesn’t think most users would carry a separate wallet just for bitcoin.
He says that most people would prefer to use something built into their phones. He does, however, believe that big tech — notably, Apple — does not allow the functionality that would be required to make a user-friendly phone-based wallet feasible.
While Armstrong does not specify which features have been banned, he does warn that crypto-compatible phones will be required in the future and that they may become popular.
BTC/USD fall below $40k. Source: TradingView
This isn’t the first time Armstrong has expressed his displeasure with Apple. In 2020, he noted that Apple’s App Store policies impede bitcoin creation.
While Coinbase may not be able to have all of the functionality it desires, Coinbase users do have access to a number of Apple-specific features.
The crypto-based Coinbase Card became approved for use in Apple Wallet in June 2021. Users may use the card to spend cryptocurrency as cash anywhere in the world.
Coinbase also accepts Apple Pay for cryptocurrency purchases.
Related article | Apple CEO Tim Cook Holds Bitcoin And Ethereum As Part Of Diversified Portfolio
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