Apple kicks Bitcoin app Coinbase out of store

Bitcoin. It’s all over the news, and you’ve probably heard of it, but do you know what it really is? It’s a digital currency that some people, namely drug dealers and folks looking to avoid paying taxes, use to move around money and circumvent the financial institutions that have been taking care of the world’s capital for hundred of years. Coinbase is a company that helps people manage their Bitcoins, both by letting them buy Bitcoins and transfer them to other people. Today, for reasons that weren’t specified, Apple kicked them out of the App Store. Now the first obvious question to ask here is why? For all intents and purposes, the Coinbase app functioned just like any other application from other banks such as Chase or Bank of America. The thing is, like I said earlier, Bitcoin has a bad reputation as a form of currency used by criminals. While I have no doubt that some people are using Bitcoin legitimately, there are quite a few rotten apples out there using the currency to avoid the eye of the law. They’re ruining it for everyone else. Curiously, the Coinbase app for Android is still in the Google Play Store, probably because Google thinks there aren’t any problems with Bitcoin, or because they know kicking the app out of the Play Store doesn’t really mean anything since the Android OS allows you to side load applications. Worst comes to worst, you could just use the mobile website to buy your illegal firearms and next shipment of drugs straight Columbia, App Store be damned. Continue reading →

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