Bitrabo Editorial
The Bitcoin community has been buzzing about Nostr, a protocol that could decentralize social media and make it difficult for censorship to occur. However, Apple has banned Damus, a decentralized Nostr-based social network, from their App Store. The application will be removed in 14 days due to a violation of guideline 3.1.1, which prohibits in-app purchases that aren’t made through Apple’s platform.
Developers speculate that the ban comes at a “suspicious” time, as Damus is scheduled to present at the Oslo Freedom Forum about how Lightning Network integration with decentralized social networks can bring financial freedom to more individuals. The ban has implications for the entire ecosystem of apps with Lightning integration and v4v.
The Bitcoin community was annoyed by Apple’s decision and pointed out that Damus doesn’t actually sell digital content; it only has a tip feature to facilitate p2p transactions, making it similar to a decentralized Venmo or Cash App.
Ray Youssef, the former CEO and co-founder of P2P platform Paxful, expressed his surprise that it took Apple so long to ban Damus, noting that P2P networks threaten centralized players.
Bitcoin is currently trading at $26,158, ahead of the US CPI release. The announcement could have implications for tomorrow’s interest rate decision by the US Federal Reserve, which may choose to refrain from raising interest rates for the first time since March 2022.
Featured image from NotebookCheck, chart from TradingView.com