Apple has taken down one of the last remaining iPhone mobile applications that allowed users to buy and sell Bitcoin.
The app, named BlockChain, had been downloaded 120,000 times, and was commonly used as a way to send and receive Bitcoins.
BlockChain’s chief executive, Nicolas Cary, claimed on Wednesday that Apple had made the move as a pre-emptive effort to protect the mobile payment systems Apple is developing. “It’s well known that Apple is developing its own payment system,†he said. “They are building a walled garden to interfere with innovation.â€
Apple declined to comment.
Other Bitcoin apps have previously come and gone from the Apple App Store.
BlockChain received an email from Apple on Wednesday evening explaining that the app “has been removed from the App Store due to an unresolved issue.â€
Mr. Cary said that Apple had not contacted it previously about any issues with the app, and that the app was essentially unchanged since Apple approved it for the store two years ago.
The Wall Street Journal recently reported that Apple was stepping up its efforts to create proprietary systems that will make it possible to make payments with an iPhone.
