The wallet was removed from the App Store and Google Play without warning
Apple is again meeting the anger of cryptocurrency users as a widespread Bitcoin Lightning wallet vanished from its US App Store. Bitcoin Lightning payment app Wallet of Satoshi (WoS) was also removed from the Google Play Store in the US as it approached over one million transactions in November.
Wallet of Satoshi banned in the US? pic.twitter.com/S44qN5UI2U
— ck (@ck_SNARKs) November 23, 2023
On November 24, various WoS users and crypto community players shared on X (Formerly Twitter) that they found no results when searching for the WoS app, which redirected them to other crypto wallet platforms. However, the WoS app has still been available on the Australian Apple App Store and Australia’s and Singapore’s Google Play Store.
Crypto industry podcaster and author Kevin Rooke says November would be the company’s “largest month of Lightning payments ever.”
Wallet of Satoshi later alleviated the chaos in an X post, communicating that it was not barred from the app stores. “We’ve made the difficult decision to remove our app from the US Apple and Google app stores, and will not serve US customers going forward,” reads the statement.
No reasons were given for the exit from services in the US, although it implied service could possibly resume based on “future developments.” Existing US customers maintain full access to their BTC funds and can transfer tokens to other crypto wallets.
Apple applies a 30% tax on in-app payments, maintaining control over crypto platforms looking to be featured on the App Store.
A group of dissatisfied Block Cash App and PayPal Venmo customers filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple on November 17, asserting it had joined anti-competitive deals with PayPal and Block Cash to limit the use of crypto payments and technology on the iOS platform.
Emma Rodriguez is the Proofreader at the Big Blind, with seven years of experience and five years in online gambling. She plays a crucial role in maintaining content quality by ensuring error-free, reader-friendly information about the gambling industry.
