In general, it is difficult to list its application on the App Store. But, it is even more complicated for crypto businesses. The global tech giant has often displayed a certain reluctance towards crypto projects. During a recent interview, the former director of the App Store explained what justifies this state of affairs. Here’s what Phillip Shoemaker revealed.
Apple viewed crypto as a Ponzi scheme
Apple, which recently licensed Nostr on the App Store, puts crypto projects through an onerous process before accepting them. According to the former director of the App Store, the global tech giant intentionally adopts opaque crypto guidelines. Phillip Shoemaker said : “Apple had a problem with cryptos from day one“.
Shoemaker explained that the Apple team believed the crypto was a Ponzi scheme. He revealed that after his departure in 2016, Apple rewrote the App Store guidelines. This work was carried out under the supervision of Phil Schiller who today manages the App Store. For Shoemaker, Schiller is responsible for the adversarial relationship between Apple and crypto.
App Store guidelines have become vague
Shoemaker argues that the App Store guidelines have experienced “a major change” after he left. They are intentionally made unclear, allowing Apple to get tougher on crypto projects. “They ended up making things even more vague and gray than before. We need black and white, we don’t need gray», expressed himself the former director of the App Store.
Shoemaker explained that in more than 7 years at Apple, he always made sure to keep these guidelines simple. He said: “The goal was always to make them more black and white over time so developers understand what they can and can’t do“.
Ten years ago, Apple banned the Coinbase app from the App Store for a year. It appears that the ban was related to App Store guidelines. Anyway, Brian Armstrong said, in 2020, Apple is becoming more and more restrictive and hostile to cryptos. The Coinbase CEO had explained the tech company blocked some of the exchange’s app features. But, he eventually deleted the tweet in which he made these revelations.
Receive a digest of news in the world of cryptocurrencies by subscribing to our new service of daily and weekly so you don’t miss any of the essential Tremplin.io!
