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Apple bans cryptocurrency mining on iPhone

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Phone maker Apple has updated its developer guidelines to explicitly ban “mining” cryptocurrencies like bitcoin.

The new rules restrict apps that drain battery, generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary strain on device resources — all of which take place in bitcoin mining.

“Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining,” Apple said on its website.

It’s unlikely someone could successfully “mine” bitcoin on an iPhone or iPad alone because of the amount of energy and computing power it takes. But Apple’s move could pre-emptively stop future, less energy-intensive digital currencies from being mined on these devices or halt the pooling of multiple devices to accomplish it.

Here’s what Apple’s website says:

2.4 Hardware Compatibility

2.4.2 Design your app to use power efficiently. Apps should not rapidly drain battery, generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary strain on device resources. Apps, including any third party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining.

The guidelines include cryptocurrency but that language remained the same as an archived version of the site recorded in late May by the Internet Archive’s Wayback Machine.

Apple’s crypto-related guidelines were originally set in 2014 after the app store unlisted Coinbase and other cryptocurrency apps, citing an “unresolved issue,” according to Apple Insider, which first reported the guideline updates Monday.

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James Barnley

I’m the editor of the DomainingAfrica. I write about internet and social media, focusing mainly on Domains. As a subscriber to my newsletter, you’ll get a lot of information on Domain Issues, ICANN, new gtld’s, Mobile technology and social media.

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