Coinbase - Bitcoin Wallet Is Out Now On The App Store, But Is It Safe To Use?

Since Apple updated its guidelines to allow "approved" virtual currency transactions in apps, a number of apps that deal in Bitcoin have become available on the App Store. And one of the most recent additions to this group of apps is one that serves as a Bitcoin wallet for Coinbase. But as noted by The Next Web, this new app, simply called Coinbase - Bitcoin Wallet, is not an official one from the popular Bitcoin exchange firm, whose own app was pulled by Apple from the App Store in November last year. Rather, it's released by Andrew Vilcsak, a developer at Airbnb, who created the app using Coinbase's APIs and open-source app. Coinbase has apparently been made aware of Vilcsak's app, reviewed it, and endorsed it on its official Twitter account:

Great to see this community contributed app! We reached out to the dev to review the code and believe it is secure. https://t.co/hPZVSr7GOI

— Coinbase (@coinbase) June 20, 2014

Unsurprisingly, some users are loath to use an unofficial app to manage their Coinbase accounts and carry out Bitcoin transactions. But if you're willing to take Coinbase's word for it, you can download Coinbase - Bitcoin Wallet right now. "It allows all the major operations in bitcoin - sending/receiving, transaction history, balance, account settings, and more," the app's App Store description notes. "You can also use a pin code to protect access to your account, and remotely disable the app if your phone is ever lost or stolen." Optimized for iPhone and iPod touch running iOS 6.1 or later, Coinbase - Bitcoin Wallet is available on the App Store for free. [gallery]

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