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Due To Bitcoin Payments, Apple Bans Nostr Client Damus From App Store

2023/06/14 11:15

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Within the Bitcoin community, Nostr is considered a revolutionary protocol that could decentralize the social media landscape and make it resistant to censorship. However, tech giant Apple does not seem to be very enthusiastic about this revolution.

Damus, a decentralized Nostr-based social network that is enjoying great popularity within the community and only launched in the Apple App Store on 31 January this year, has now received a ban notice from the tech giant. As Damus announced via their official Twitter account, the application will be removed from the App Store in 14 days.

Apple Bans Bitcoin Based Social Network

The tech giant informed the developers of Damus that zaps are not allowed on their platform because they could be used by content creators to sell digital content. Specifically, the tech giant writes:

Upon re-evaluation, we found that your app is not in compliance with the App Store Review Guidelines. Specifically, we found that your app is in violation of the following: Guideline 3.1.1 – Business – Payments – In-App Purchases.
We noticed that your app allows users to send “tips” associated with receiving content from digital content creators with a mechanism other than in-app purchases.

According to the developers of Damus, the ban comes at a “suspicious” time. The project will give a presentation at the Oslo Freedom Forum from June 13-15 on how decentralized social networks with Lightning Network integration can bring financial freedom to the masses.

“This would be a watershed moment: if people can’t freely transact p2p on their platform, this has huge implications for the entire ecosystem of apps with lightning integration and v4v,” the Damus developers say.

The Bitcoin community also reacted irritably to Apple’s decision. One community member explained that Apple is still keen for digital goods to be transacted exclusively through the in-app purchase platform.

Meanwhile, others stressed that Damus itself does not sell digital goods. It only has a tip feature to facilitate p2p transactions, making it like a decentralized Venmo or Cash App.

Ray Youssef, the former CEO and co-founder of P2P platform Paxful added:

Surprised it took them so long. They see what is coming. P2p threatens all these centralized players and they are aware of how fast content producers will move along with their followers once they see the money. Imagine a 1000 Joe Rogans coming to p2p bitcoin apps.

At press time, Bitcoin changed hands for $26,158 ahead of today’s CPI release in the US (at 8:30 am EST). The announcement could be decisive for tomorrow’s interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve (Fed). According to expectations, the Fed could refrain from raising the key interest rate for the first time since March 2022.