Google is once again displaying its distaste towards the cryptocurrency space by removing three wallets from its Play Store. The three wallet providers in question—CoPay, BitPay and the official Bitcoin.com wallet—have stated that they were given no prior notice or reasoning for the removal. Moreover, Google has yet to publicly explain why they decided to specifically target the aforementioned wallets, while other providers remain in place.
However, this is common practice with app removals, as Google tends not to comment on individual cases. Nevertheless, cryptocurrency veteran Roger Ver, who also runs Bitcoin.com, explained that he believes the removal might be related to Google’s recent policy update on mining apps.
At the time of the mining app ban in July 2018, Google stated, “We don’t allow apps that mine cryptocurrency on devices. We permit apps that remotely manage the mining of cryptocurrency.”
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Roger Ver continued to add that although he recognizes that under the new policy mining apps are prohibited from the Google Play Store, the organization may have made a mistake with regard to the official Bitcoin.com wallet, which does not facilitate it. Interestingly, alongside the Bitcoin.com app, CoPay and BitPay all share the same source code.
As a result, Google’s misconception on the Bitcoin.com wallet providing mining services may have led them to remove the other two in error as well. Google’s policy towards cryptocurrency and blockchain applications seems to be following a similar trend. Earlier in the year, alongside social media giant Facebook, they decided to ban the advertising of all products linked to cryptocurrencies, including any services that promoted trading advice.
On top of this, Google has also recently imposed a ban on Chrome extensions that are related to cryptocurrency mining, illustrating that they are taking a strong stance across products outside of their Play Store division.
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