Dash Wallet, based on the cryptocurrency Dash, is now available in the iOS App Store as of today, according to Dash, the company that operates the eponymous currency.
The app store approval comes almost a year after the Cupertino, Calif.- based Apple denied Dash Wallet entry in its app store, in August 2016.
The Dash Wallet-iOS saga offers an intriguing window into the machinations of what is and is not allowed into the App Store.
Dash works similarly to bitcoin, with an underlying blockchain recording transactions, but is intended to fulfill what many considered bitcoin’s initial promise — anonymity for the user. Dash was originally released as XCoin in 2014, and later renamed DarkCoin. It became Dash, short for “digital cash,” in 2015. This anonymity may be why Apple and others are wary of the coin.
“The fact that Apple now recognizes the increased demand and importance of Dash speaks to the progress we’ve made,” Ryan Taylor, Dash’s CEO, said in an email Wednesday. “Apple products ranks at the top of the list of our users’ demands. Official approval from Apple is important for end user security as well… Now that Dash is an Apple-approved digital currency, we are able to offer our users an officially endorsed wallet option.”
Apple’s reversal of its previous decision allows Dash to be integrated and utilized in applications in the iOS App Store, including multi-blockchain wallets, in addition to Dash’s own wallet. Unlike bitcoin, which takes several minutes at a minimum to confirm transactions, Dash is able to confirm within seconds. Users can also send payments anonymously (though some dispute that with a blockchain anything can be anonymous or untraceable) using the feature PrivateSend, formerly known as DarkSend.
“Apple is in a difficult position,” according to Dash’s announcement Wednesday. “Ultimately, they are attempting to look out for user safety…. 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.”
The wallet is free. Once downloaded, it allows the user to send and receive dash payments online or in person, as well as send payments to merchants that accept bitcoins directly with the digital asset exchange, Shapeshift.io. Through the wallet, the user can store her dash as well as recover funds when the phone is lost or broken.
Dash is currently the sixth largest cryptocurrency based on market capitalization. According to Coinmarketcap, Dash has a market cap of $1.2 billion at a price of $164.79 per coin. Bitcoin, the largest cryptocurrency, currently has a market cap of $38.3 billion.
Now that it has approval from Apple, Dash will spend more time focusing on developing its landmark product Dash Evolution, which, the company says, will drastically improve user experience. The product will be launched in June 2018, with an alpha test to start this December.
“Evolution will look and feel like everyday online banking apps, PayPal or Venmo,” Taylor explained, “but will be superior in that it will be cheaper, entirely global, merchant and consumer friendly, and will completely remove the technical barriers associated with digital currency.”
The Dash community is comprised of more than 50,000 users worldwide, and the company notes that many of its users fall within the 18-to-35 age bracket.
Dash’s official wallet on the Google Play Store — it has been live there since June 2014 — has more than 30,000 downloads. The number of active desktop wallets grew 78% in the last quarter, according to the company. Dash is also integrated into multi-currency wallets such as Jaxx (10,000 – 50,000 Android installs) and Coinomi (50,000 -100,000 Android installs).
Apple did not respond to phone calls and emails for comment.