Apple is adding a Bitcoin Wallet to iMessage
Last night, I got a notification of the news that the new iMessage update will include Bitcoin Circle Wallet. You can read @rogerkver's Bitcoin.com article below.
Living in South Africa, and watching the technology landscape with regards to Bitcoin and other technologies that have not been as widely adopted here as they have in other countries, namely the US and parts of Europe, this news is very big. It is very big for slow Bitcoin adopters because as we all know, Apple is a global brand, and literally, "Millions of iMessage Users Will Now Be Able to Use Circle’s Bitcoin Payment System".
Depending on whether or not the update is restricted in some regions, the exposure of Bitcoin will be very significant, so much so that I think this move adds more value to the existing $615 (Bitcoin price at the time of writing this) Bitcoin price, and will push the demand of Bitcoin up. I know it will in South Africa, and other late Bitcoin / Crypto-Currency adopters.
In South Africa, more people have smart devices than bank accounts. It is rather incredible, and for half of their devices to come with a Bitcoin wallet by default, and in a messaging app, this is groundbreaking for this environment.
There are other global factors to consider of course. If you consider what happened in Greece and Cyprus with regards to the sudden closure of their financial institutions, forcing them to find other means to transact, imagine if they had a bitcoin wallet on their phone. Or at least easy access to a Bitcoin wallet. They would have been able to solve a rather big problem rather quickly. I know they did turn to Bitcoin, but only a small portion of the population knew, or even knew how to use it.
I do believe that the US, and subsequently the regions mostly steeped in the USD (most of the known world), will all be plunged into a financial catastrophe, and a repeat of that has already been seen in Greece, Cyprus, and even Zimbabwe to a degree with regards to the financial climate will spread like a wildfire. This is an inevitable bubble-burst.
Knowing that Apple is deliberately including a Bitcoin wallet in their software that has a reach of millions upon millions of people who are going to be in the very likely scenario of a financial collapse soon, for me, this is noteworthy for many obvious reason, namely, a huge Bitcoin price spike.
Mixed with a dollar collapse, and the actual value (you can use it on iMessage, assumingly in a user friendly manner), the Bitcoin price is heading for the thousands of dollars. Taking note that the dollar will probably not be worth much, at least we will have a mechanism where we can buy a loaf of bread for $1000, without the need of a wheelbarrow.
Bitcoin Anyone?
We can take advantage of the clear Bitcoin price increase, but be aware. I feel that Apple has made this move deliberately. They are preparing for a cashless, USD collapse, Big Brother state. Before you stop reading, we all know the information that Edward Snowden released with regards to monitoring of our devices, this is not news anymore. Couple that with a Bitcoin wallet, and you have an unprecedented amount of control over people. How do you think taxes will be paid when a USD is worth nothing? How do you think food stamps, and other welfare programs are going to be distributed? And if you are celebrating that fact, Apple will more than likely have access and information to every last bit received and spent on your wallet. If Apple has access, governments and corporations have access.
So, in conclusion, this is big news for Bitcoin, blockchain, and crypto-currencies, but could also sound as a warning bell for the difficult times ahead.
I have had thoughts of Bitcoin being the 1% of the 1%'s One World Currency, and it has everything going for it to be that. With the current blocksize debate with one of the options for scaling is to have a less decentralized path (control measures), and the inclusion of the currency by Microsoft, Apple, and other NSA proxy's, it seems likely.
Sources:
Apple iMessage to Feature Circle’s Bitcoin Wallet in New Update
Cirlce News
Edit: 2 hours after writing this the price of Bitcoin hit $630. Just saying.
Are there any news how Apple will manage the essentials of password recovery and wallet backups? Will that be outsourced to Circle? Don´t forget Circle is funded by Goldman Sachs and other big players.
I wonder who will be the exchange partner for Apple. How do you deposit and withdraw funds?
Many good reasons to look deeper into that. However, good times for BlockPay.ch ! Millions of new potential users who now can pay with Bitcoin at every BlockPay station :D BlockPay Merchants say hello to new customers!
Goldman Sachs involvement is important. Thank you for bringing that to my attention. Gives more confirmation that this is an Evil Corp move.
Well FINALLY Big brother is getting on board the gravy train! ;)
Looks like that. Or thats what I am seeing anyway. We just all need to be vigilant and wise in our decisions around this.
Absolutely. Never trust anyone of these companies or governments simply because they pick up on our lingo and use a bit of the same technology as us.
Wow
Hello @spartanza, I just stopped by to let you know that I included this post in my favourite reads on my Steemit Ramble today. The post can be found here
Interesting developments in crypto. UPVOTED!
@kus-knee (The Old Dog)
The problem is that it's Apple, not Android. Not many people in South Africa use an iPhone, and few if any of them don't already have bank accounts. So from an affordability point of view we're going to have to wait for an app like WhatsApp to use bitcoin to make a difference in Africa.
It's a good point. But if you compare the US adoption vs SA adoption, and the amount of Apple device users in South Africa are very very likely to to use the wallet service, hence massive growth.
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