Australia-based bitcoin wallet and exchange provider CoinJar has announced that its iOS app is now available for iPhone users in the UK and Australia.
The news follows the Cupertino, California, company’s surprise App Store policy update issued 2nd June, which indicated that apps could facilitate the transmission of “approved” virtual currencies provided they did so in accordance with state and federal laws.
Despite the widespread enthusiasm that followed the announcement, it remains unclear to many in the bitcoin community as to what exactly the policy change means for bitcoin and other digital currencies, which are still fighting to define their regulatory status around the globe.
Nonetheless, the reintroduction of CoinJar’s app to the marketplace is a potentially positive one given that Apple had previously banned the company’s app from its store.
Company CEO Asher Tan took to Twitter to broadcast the news, though he didn’t offer many details as to how CoinJar was able to receive approval:
(Re)-Introducing CoinJar for iPhone in Australia & the UK. https://t.co/MSYAWeRkzI
— Asher Tan (@ashertn) June 3, 2014
Community reaction
Though the full ramifications of the news are uncertain, reaction in the bitcoin reddit community was overwhelmingly positive regarding the news.
CoinJar co-founder Ryan Zhou took to reddit to offer some additional news, suggesting that his company’s approved iOS app would soon be more widely available.
Zhou said:
“[The] CoinJar app will be available in the following countries in 24 hours: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland [and the] UK.”
At press time, users were reporting success with the app’s bitcoin sending functionality.
Optimism begins
Blockchain CEO Nic Cary told newsBTC that his company would be looking to resubmit its app to Apple for review and that he was cautiously optimistic about the possibility of his company’s app being approved.
Apple’s anti-bitcoin policies have been one of the biggest threats to the proliferation of bitcoin, given the company’s large market share in the US.
Still, until such time as those apps are reviewed it will remain unclear as to the full ramifications of Apple’s news. At press time, CoinJar had not responded to press inquiries.
Image via CoinJar