BY Larry Smart: http://lifewithoutrulers.blogspot.com/2014/07/apple-vs-bitcoin.html
Apple is finally and reluctantly getting on board with Bitcoin and this clearly illustrates how their outmoded way of thinking is killing them.
After banning and removing all Bitcoin related apps from their Appstore, they are now slowly starting to allow a few of the big ones on-board.
Unlike Android, Apple has complete control of what is allowed to be sold in their Appstore. They decide what apps you're allowed to purchase and what you cannot. They have also fought efforts to jailbreak their phones or sideload apps from sources other than the Appstore.
Why is Apple opposed to innovation?
After banning and removing all Bitcoin related apps from their Appstore, they are now slowly starting to allow a few of the big ones on-board.
Unlike Android, Apple has complete control of what is allowed to be sold in their Appstore. They decide what apps you're allowed to purchase and what you cannot. They have also fought efforts to jailbreak their phones or sideload apps from sources other than the Appstore.
Why is Apple opposed to innovation?
Apple claims that their reason for pulling Bitcoin-related apps was due to the Silk Road bust. Silk Road was a pirate website, that provided a market for all sorts of illicit products and services that could be bought with Bitcoin - everything from music, movies, and games to drugs, hookers, and hitmen could be purchased anonymously using Bitcoin. The alleged operator of The Silk Road, the Dread Pirate Roberts, was arrested in 2013 and his home raided. Feds seized computers with coin wallets containing over 30,000 BTC.
But, Bitcoin is not the only currency used to commit these so-called crimes. While 30,000 BTC is a sizable amount of money, it pales in comparison to many other busts involving credit card fraud, drugs, etc. in which the criminals used Dollars, Euros, Pesos, or Rupees - yet no bans on apps that use these currencies or credit cards were even considered.
The Bitcoin architecture is a fully-distributed network. It is based on the exact opposite of this Command and Control mentality, which is probably why it frightens the folks at Apple. Apple has always been about design over innovation. When they carried the largest share of the Smartphone market they acted like tyrants - dictating what people can and can't do with their devices. Those days are gone, and Apple's market share is average, though they still act like they control the market.
By using open-source code and a totally free market, Android has completely surpassed Apple leaving
them far behind. Android's market share for the 1st quarter of 2014 checked in at over 81% and it's still growing, while Apples IOS has been stagnant and trending slightly downwards. Apple IOS checked in at 15.2% for the 1st quarter of 2014, down from 17.1% in the same quarter the previous year.
What makes Android so much better than IOS? Both operating systems are very powerful. Some would argue that they are almost equal utility, yet Android completely dominates in sales.
The difference is that Android is not centrally controlled. It is an open-source and provides a free market for app developers. Android vs. IOS is basically Free-Market Capitalism vs. Command and Control Socialism.
Bitcoin is a system of Free-Market Capitalism for money that is independent from central banks and government. If we were to draw a graph of Bitcoin vs. U.S. Dollars (or any other government-sanctioned, central-bank currency) it would look like the Android vs. IOS graph above- although we are only at the very beginning.
As Bitcoin continues to gain momentum, the government currencies will become more and more irrelevant.
Related Reading:
Forbes: Why Apple is Afraid of Bitcoin
Digital Trends: Bitcoin Users Smash Their iPhones after Apple Bans Last Bitcoin Wallet From Appstore
Apple Warms Up To Bitcoin with Reintroduction of Blockchain on Appstore