Apple finally accepts Dash as approved cryptocurrency on App Store

Privacy-centric cryptocurrency Dash has officially been accepted by Apple as an approved cryptocurrency on the App Store. Following a comprehensive appeal, Apple has now formally reversed an August 2016 decision to deny entry to the App Store for applications integrating Dash, including the official Dash wallet.

The approval confirms that Dash, now the 6th largest digital currency by total market cap, can be integrated in any relevant application in the iOS App Store, including multi-blockchain wallets and Dash's own official wallet, said a statement.

CEO of Dash Core Ryan Taylor said: "As Dash continues to expand our user base and ecosystem of services, it is critical for our users to have access to their Dash funds on a variety of platforms, especially mobile devices. Dash's instant payments make Dash ideal for point-of-sale situations, which means mobile phone support for all of our users is a must. The fact that Apple now recognises the increased demand and importance of Dash speaks to the progress we've made in reaching larger and larger audiences."

Over the past year, developers and blockchain companies have submitted several Dash-integrated wallets to the App Store, of which the vast majority were rejected.

"Apple is in a difficult position," Taylor said. "Ultimately, they are attempting to look out for user safety by preventing less reputable projects from accessing the Apple Store ecosystem. In the past, a number of unaudited and unofficial Dash wallets have slipped through the review process, leaving users questioning the safety of those options.

"Now that Dash is an Apple-approved digital currency, we are able to offer our users an officially endorsed wallet option. Our users can confidently use Dash wallets that are maintained, officially supported, and known to be safe.

"Apple has shown a willingness to allow worthy digital currencies into their platform, but that requires an incredible amount of due diligence on their part. We're pleased that they determined Dash was worth the substantial effort to evaluate, and we're obviously pleased with the outcome," said Taylor.

The final step of the appeal process was a six-page written report submitted to the App Store at the beginning of June, informing Apple of Dash's surge in popularity, growth in value and demand, ability to scale and its improvements upon bitcoin as a consumer's e-commerce currency of choice.

An official iOS-compatible Dash wallet, built by the Dash Core Team, is now ready for download on the App Store.

"We've had a version ready for many months pending the approval and it is simply called 'Dash Wallet.' We'll be making larger investments into our iOS wallet now that we are approved, but even the initial version will include support for sending InstantSend payments. We'll be adding additional features and enhancements over the coming months as well," Taylor said.