Is the idea of an Apple Bitcoin wallet drifting away?

For years now the speculation has been circulating that Apple may create its own wallet for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, and with the discovery a few weeks ago this idea seemed to have been strengthened. 

In fact, in early April it was discovered that the Bitcoin whitepaper PDF was included in every copy of macOS as of 2018.

While this was only a hidden inclusion, probably the result of the independent initiative of an individual developer at the company and not the company itself, it had suggested that perhaps Apple had changed its mind about cryptocurrencies. 

Moreover, there had also been speculation in December that Apple would open its ecosystem to crypto and NTFs as well, thanks to new EU regulations. 

In other words, everything seemed all set for a possible step forward by the company in this regard, but instead, a step backward arrived. 

The removal of Bitcoin’s whitepaper PDF

Yesterday, the dedicated news website for the Mac, 9to5mac.com, reported that Apple has removed the Bitcoin whitepaper from the latest macOS beta, called Ventura. 

So after the discovery in early April, the company ran for cover by removing that PDF, probably precisely in response to the speculation triggered by that news about its possible move into the crypto world. 

Apple has never officially disclosed why Satoshi Nakamoto’s whitepaper was present in macOS, but 9to5mac argues that it was probably just some sort of prank by the engineers who worked on building the operating system. 

To tell the truth, the PDF was not simply removed, or replaced with another PDF, but disappeared because Apple removed the internal tool called VirtualScanner that contained the PDF. 

According to 9to5mac, that hidden tool should never have been discovered and made public, and it had not yet been removed as of 2018 because it did not include sensitive information.

So Apple did not backtrack on the inclusion of the Bitcoin whitepaper in macOS, but it did remove a hidden tool that contained it and that it had probably just forgotten to remove earlier. 

Despite this, it seems unlikely that the news of the whitepaper’s inclusion in macOS did not play a key role in this affair, in part because perhaps someone knew of the VirtualScanner’s existence even before it was made public that it contained Satoshi’s PDF. 

The long history between Apple and Bitcoin

So far the company has always kept its distance from Bitcoin and the crypto world, although over the years there seemed to be some glimmer of rapprochement. 

For example, in May two years ago it was discovered that Apple was looking for a business development manager in the “alternative payments” sector, which had hinted at an entry into the crypto sector as a possible technical player. 

It is worth noting that the last big bull run was underway at the time, and from 2022 onward nothing more was heard of this. 

However, in November 2021 it was discovered that the company’s current CEO, Tim Cook, had invested in cryptocurrencies. Indeed, he had even stated that everyone should look with interest at the crypto sector.

This seemed like a real, definitive opening, but apparently it was not followed through. 

It is probably no coincidence at all that these supposed openings occurred precisely in 2021, when the hype toward cryptocurrencies was very high. Indeed, with the bear-market of 2022 everything fell back. 

It is worth mentioning that for now it seems that the company has not yet objected to linking its Apple Pay Wallet to crypto debit cards, which actually allows people to pay in cryptocurrencies using their wallet, albeit indirectly. 

Apple’s wallet: only fintech, but no crypto

In reality, Apple’s wallet, which allows payments with various credit and debit cards, is not a crypto wallet at all, neither directly nor indirectly. 

What is indirectly related to crypto are some debit cards that allow fiat currency payments that can be topped up using cryptocurrencies. 

Thus, these are the ones that are connected to the crypto world, and not Apple’s wallet that merely withdraws funds in fiat currency from crypto debit cards. 

However, what does create food for thought is the fact that the company is not opposed to this kind of use of its wallet, even though it has been known for some time now. 

So while it does not seem that Apple has yet made any real concrete steps to enter the crypto sector, it does seem that it does not want to oppose these new technologies. 

If anything, it is very likely that Apple is studying crypto with interest, as also shown by the clear, overt, and direct interest of its CEO. 

At this time it does not seem possible to rule out a priori that sooner or later Apple’s wallet may also directly integrate Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, although it will most likely take some more time. 

The departure hypothesis

At this point the hypothesis of Apple’s departure from the crypto world does not seem so credible. 

The main reason for the possible strengthening of this hypothesis, namely the removal of Bitcoin’s whitepaper, seems to be due more to a desire to remove a tool that should have remained hidden rather than to a distancing from Bitcoin. 

The fact that the company is not objecting to the use of crypto cards in its wallet reiterates that Apple does not appear to be hostile to the crypto world at all. 

While the company stopped revealing details linking it to this world in 2022 when the hype dissipated, should the hype return, it may become involved again. 

In short, everything suggests that Apple is not distancing itself from Bitcoin at all. 

Apple’s possible Bitcoin wallet

Instead, the hypothesis that has been circulating for some time is that Apple may decide at some point to offer its users, especially iPhone users, crypto trading financial services. 

Already to date, there are plenty of Apple users trading crypto on their iPhones, but using apps that have nothing to do with Apple itself. 

This is a real business that the company may want to get into, perhaps through a partnership with some institutional player in the industry, such as Gemini or Coinbase. 

To be honest, it seems rather unlikely that Apple will continue to steer clear of crypto markets, although that does not at all mean that it is likely to develop and release its own wallet for Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies. 

It is worth noting that its main rival in this regard, Samsung, has already equipped its high-end devices with a crypto wallet, so in the event of success it is extremely difficult to imagine Apple choosing to leave the field to its competitors. 

However, to date it does not appear that Samsung’s crypto wallet has been a great success, and this effectively grants Apple the luxury of being able to stay out of it.