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Blockchain’s Response to Apple

blog.blockchain.info

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Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#31

Post by freyrs3 »

barce wrote: post #28
thethimble wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised by the outrage. Apple's position here is logical - banning bitcoin wallet apps does not impact the vast majority of its userbase while taking a strong stance in preserving its payments monopoly. Corporations are not benevolent but are rational agents acting in their best interest.

By that logic they should ban Paypal, Dwolla, Gyft, Gowallet, Visa, and any other payment app. They clearly haven't, and I'm not sure how Bitcoin apps are any different. The point is they aren't acting rationally.

And that's because those companies have made deals with Apple behind closed doors that your average app developer can't leverage. It's rational in the sense that it serves their interests.

Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#33

Post by threeseed »

barce wrote: post #28
thethimble wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm surprised by the outrage. Apple's position here is logical - banning bitcoin wallet apps does not impact the vast majority of its userbase while taking a strong stance in preserving its payments monopoly. Corporations are not benevolent but are rational agents acting in their best interest.

By that logic they should ban Paypal, Dwolla, Gyft, Gowallet, Visa, and any other payment app. They clearly haven't, and I'm not sure how Bitcoin apps are any different. The point is they aren't acting rationally.

Apple is acting completely rationally. They are being selfish. Bitcoin wallets have a terrible reputation for losing their customer's money and Bitcoin itself still has very unsavoury elements (drugs, money laundering etc) to say the least. Given that the press love a good Apple story you have to ask yourself why take the potential hit to the brand for no benefit ?

Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#34

Post by threeseed »

freyrs3 wrote: post #31
barce wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

By that logic they should ban Paypal, Dwolla, Gyft, Gowallet, Visa, and any other payment app. They clearly haven't, and I'm not sure how Bitcoin apps are any different. The point is they aren't acting rationally.

And that's because those companies have made deals with Apple behind closed doors that your average app developer can't leverage. It's rational in the sense that it serves their interests.

Care to provide evidence of this ? I led the mobile development effort for a very large international bank which was doing peer-peer payments. We didn't make any special deals and were subject to the same conditions as everyone else.

Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#35

Post by freyrs3 »

colinbartlett wrote: post #10

What's the best way to make noise about this? Sure, I can switch to Android but A) I don't really want to do that and B) losing a handful of Bitcoin enthusiasts to another platform is really not going to dent Apple in any way.

The only rational response is to weigh the benefits of developing for and using the iOS ecosystem with your convictions about general purpose computing. If you don't think Apple shouldn't have this kind of power then don't use their products and don't support the Mac ecosystem.

Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#36

Post by threeseed »

ye wrote: post #13
colinbartlett wrote: post #10

What's the best way to make noise about this? Sure, I can switch to Android but A) I don't really want to do that and B) losing a handful of Bitcoin enthusiasts to another platform is really not going to dent Apple in any way.

Switch to Android. It will make a dent. Bitcoin people are not a random demographic, they are early adopters, many are entrepreneurs, most are young.

Any "dent" would be eclipsed by Apple running another TV ad in China or India.

I doubt they could care less.

Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#38

Post by letstryagain »

wmf wrote: post #17
ChuckMcM wrote: post #4

I'm sure they would be ok with it if you paid Apple 1/3 of any Bitcoin transaction you made through it. Without doing so you create a huge hole in their app revenue tax.

Does apple take 1/3 of every transaction through banking apps?

If Apple allows banking apps they should allow Bitcoin apps, I don't see the problem.

Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#39

Post by kristianp »

thethimble wrote: post #25
freyrs3 wrote: post #21

This was unexpected? How is not naive to expect a corporation to remove any software when it infringes on their bottomline. If you buy into developing software for this corporate-controlled walled garden of any kind you set yourself up for this. It's 2014, we've had 5 years of this kind of behavior from Apple and people still seem surprised by this fact.

I'm surprised by the outrage. Apple's position here is logical - banning bitcoin wallet apps does not impact the vast majority of its userbase while taking a strong stance in preserving its payments monopoly. Corporations are not benevolent but are rational agents acting in their best interest.

Apple has always been strong on protecting whatever competitive advantage it holds, whether it be from hardware clones or third party payment apps.

However, outrage is what it takes to get them to give ground. Take the ban on cross compilers and interpreters in apps for instance. It took substantial protest and outrage to get them to ease the restrictions.

http://allthingsd.com/20100614/apple-gives-ios-developers-a-...

Re: Blockchain’s Response to Apple

#40

Post by threeseed »

ye wrote: post #15
robzyb wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No they wouldn't. Profiting from Bitcoin transfers is a regulatory nightmare. This is because there are no controls to minimise the risk that Bitcoin is being used for money laundering.

The dumb money laundering argument. If you seriously think regulators care about money laundering, ask yourself why HSBC laundered hundreds of billions of drug cartel dollars, got a slap on the wrist and nobody went to jail. Money laundering is the new "think of the children" or "terrorists!" bullshit.

It's a legitimate argument.

Regulators DO care about money laundering they have just been completely incompetent at regulating it.

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