Millions of iMessage Users Will Now Be Able to Use Circle’s Bitcoin Payment System
In January 2014, Apple banned Bitcoin wallets across all iOS platforms. This move included the removal of apps such as Blockchain.info, Coinbase and Coinjar.
Bitcoin supporters were enraged when Apple removed Bitcoin applications from the App Store but were pleasantly surprised when they returned. In July of the same year, Apple allowed certain bitcoin wallets back on the App Store.
The iOS 10 update will contain a newly designed iMessage service that will enable developers to bring third-party applications to the platform. The beta version of the iMessage app shows a handful of apps added to the texting service, along with music and GIF sharing abilities. Third-party platforms to be added include Square Cash, Lyft and Circle Pay.
Circle Financial CEO Jeremy Allaire said that adding the payment service to iMessage will benefit consumers. “There’s a hurdle to have to install a Smartphone app so that I can pay my buddy and all the inputting and setup,” Allaire said. “To do it all within the iMessages app is a lot easier.”
Since its launch, Circle has been on a mission to create more widespread adoption with its bitcoin wallet. So far, the company has worked with regulators in Europe to expand in that region, and has just recently made significant deals in China. This summer, the Bitcoin-based company received $60 million in strategic funding from well-known Chinese investors.
Circle plans to make its app available across the globe. “We want to connect consumers using dollars, punds, euro and renminbi,” company leaders wrote in a blog post, “the same way that the web, email and other protocols have connected consumers globally.”
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