Open-source bitcoin project Coinpunk has launched an Indiegogo campaign in an effort to raise funding for a new wallet solution that could be used on iOS devices without a jailbreak.
Apple has a history of restricting bitcoin-related apps in the app store (which contains over 1 million apps). Thus, Coinpunk is not designing an app, but a web application.
The web application allows users to create self-hosted bitcoin wallets and access them through the browser, rendering Apple’s walled garden approach pointless. The idea of self-hosted wallets is interesting, as many users are still suspicious of online wallets, so they tend to believe their bitcoins are safer in their own hands.
Coinpunk is based on HTML5, and it is accessible from Safari, Apple’s stock iOS browser. Better yet, since it is a web-based HTML5 application, it can be used on almost any platform out there – Windows, Android, Mac OS X, etc.
100% open source
The developers say they are planning to make standalone/browser store versions, integrate support for cold wallets, introduce more merchant tools and add more options for buying bitcoin. Support for altcoins is coming too, but the team admits their primary focus is on bitcoin. Their goal is outlined on Indiegogo:
“We want to prove that you can make 100% open source HTML5/JS Bitcoin wallets that work just as well as proprietary native ones, if not better.”
However, to make it all happen the Coinpunk team needs a fair bit of cash. The funding goal is $55,000, which sounds rather ambitious. The money will be used to pay server and development bills, improve the website, conduct security audits and – of course – pay for living expenses. Even developers have to eat and sleep every once in a while.
There are still 60 days to go, and the team is accepting contributions in bitcoin, litecoin and dogecoin. At the time of writing, Coinpunk’s campaign had already raised $741.00.
Although many crypto fans are still expecting Apple to ease its restrictions, this does not seem very likely at this point. Apple has very strict policies, and unlike Google it vets every app its offers through its app store.
Last year, the Coinbase iOS app, which enabled users to buy, sell and send bitcoin, was removed from the App Store less than a month after its launch. However, other bitcoin apps, including ZeroBlock and Blockchain.info, are still available on iOS.
Leather Jacket Image via Shutterstock