Bitcoin paper wallet iPhone

If I were Apple, I would ban Bitcoin wallet apps from the App Store too. Possibly though, I would ban them for different reasons than Apple might have.

Having Bitcoins on a mobile device that is used for surfing the internet and running general purpose apps is an unmitigated disaster waiting to happen for both Bitcoin and for Apple.

Even though I have the BlockChain.info app, I have never carried Bitcoins on my iPhone because I just don’t think it’s a good idea.

If Bitcoin wallets on Apple devices were commonplace, I expect the day would come when people lose their funds en masse because somebody found a vulnerability and exploited it to steal wallets. Even a simple vulnerability in Safari the web browser – like the one that was used to jailbreak iPhones in the past – and a good spam campaign – would be all a hacker needs to mass pillage bitcoin from Apple users.

There are two kinds of wallets I would support if I were Apple. One would be a wallet that doesn’t actually store the bitcoins. Instead, such a wallet would scan a QR code from a “paper wallet”, only for the purpose of immediate spending. All change would be returned to another address, off the device.

A second might be a wallet that was limited to storing pocket change, perhaps limited to $20.

I like to carry around blank paper wallets. I put them in my wallet right next to the small amounts of cash I would normally carry. Sometimes I carry small amounts of Bitcoin on loaded paper wallets, especially since I like to give tips in Bitcoin to those I know are interested. A strategy of carrying paper wallets, along with a mobile app that lets me spend them, is everything I need to be a full-fledged Bitcoin citizen with a risk profile no different than carrying fiat cash:

• I can give Bitcoins to non-Bitcoiners by sending Bitcoin to one of my blank paper wallets and handing it to them.
• I can send Bitcoins digitally, to other people’s Bitcoin addresses, by importing a paper wallet and sending them from my phone.
• I can ask someone for Bitcoins by tearing a paper wallet in half and giving them the payment address. They can pay now if they’re able to, or later if they’re not.
• I can promise someone Bitcoins I don’t have in my possession, by tearing a paper wallet in half and giving them the private key. I send the Bitcoins later when I’m able to.

While carrying paper wallets takes some preparation, it’s worth pointing out that printing off a few paper wallets on my home printer is no more inconvenient than driving to the bank to get cash from an ATM.