ShapeShift.io, a well-known digital currency exchange, has just announced that the trading platform is available on the IOS app store, making it the first mobile exchange app ever permitted on the app store.
Along with Apple’s announcement of iOS 9, users will be able to trade bitcoin with monero, counterparty, dash, and other altcoins from their phones.
“Since inception, ShapeShift has changed what is expected of altcoin exchanges," said ShapeShift.io Founder and CEO Erik Voorhees in a press release. "Having a presence on mobile is a crucial step in our roadmap for delivering the mostfrictionless experience possible while working at the speed of digital currency.”
“Shapeshift mobile iOS app is the next step towards instant accessibility of crypto - no matter where you are,” said Lisa Cheng, founder of Vanbex.Unlike traditional exchanges, users can trade without an account or email address. Arguing that the increased privacy is good for consumer protection, (no data in the hands of a third party) users also have access to shifting one coin or digital asset to another, receiving a payment shortly after deposit.
“Most exchanges hold customer funds and extract personal information, which is an archaic and insecure model,” said Voorhees. “Mt. Gox was a teachable moment for everyone in the Bitcoin community, and ShapeShift has innovated these problems out of the picture. We are both faster and more secure. This is real consumer protection – no funds or sensitive information is stored on our servers, nor on the user’s phone in case it is damaged, destroyed or stolen. Digital currency has brought to humanity a more secure infrastructure, and so we build in that spirit.”
Over the past few months, ShapeShift has partnered with a number of companies to expand their service, including Purse.io, an escrow service that allows customers to purchase items on Amazon for a discount by using digital currency, and Vaultoro, a platform that allows users to trade digital currency for bullion.
Historically, Apple has been rather anti-digital currency on the app store, having a time period of several months in which Bitcoin wallets weren’t even allowed. Since then, Apple has allowed for wallets, and now the first-ever exchange.
Despite the supposed change of heart, Apple Pay is still charging forward without Bitcoin, and it doesn’t look like it will look to adopt it or its technology anytime soon. ShapeShift’s mobile app might mark a change in app store policy in which more digital currency exchanges will be allowed to launch mobile applications on the IOS platform.