Apple has dismissed the most recent iteration of the Lightning-enabled Bitcoin wallet Zeus, which operates without custodial services. This situation was announced via a tweet from Evan Kaloudis, the founder of Zeus.

This move is a day after Apple’s dispute with Damus, a well-known Lightning-enabled Bitcoin app. Damus operates as a decentralized social media platform utilizing the Nostr protocol. Nostr stands for “notes and other stuff transmitted by relays”.

Apple raised concerns about Damus’ zap feature. This detail enables users to send small amounts of Bitcoin via the Lightning Network to their favored content creators as a gesture of appreciation, similar to Twitter’s “tip” feature. The Lightning Network is Bitcoin’s secondary layer payment network, offering quicker and more cost-effective transactions.

Kaloudis reports that Apple has directed its focus toward Zeus. The tech giant demands that the creator of the wallet presented evidence of the necessary licenses and permissions for approval to enable the transmission of a virtual currency. Failure to comply with this requirement would result in Apple’s App Store rejection. 

It appears that Zeus violates Apple’s guidelines, which mandate apps to substantiate their possession of suitable licenses. These licenses, such as money transmitter licenses, facilitate the transmission of cryptocurrencies.

Numerous legal experts concur that designating non-custodial wallets, such as Zeus, as money transmitters should be avoided. They abstain from assuming control of funds or private keys. This classification is reserved for custodial wallets like those provided by Coinbase and Binance, which take custody of customer funds.

Breez, another non-custodial Bitcoin wallet currently available in the App Store, tweeted that they advocate approving non-custodial wallets. They pointed out the presence of a specific exception in the same section. Furthermore, Breez highlighted the abundance of wallets in the App Store. 

The prior iteration of Zeus remains accessible in the App Store. However, what modifications have been implemented in the new version is still being determined. 

Damus has subsequently agreed to eliminate the zap button from all content sections. Reportedly, Apple deems zaps on posts as equivalent to enabling the sale of digital content. The tech giant has permitted Damus to retain zap functionality at the profile level.

About Zeus

The Zeus team has developed a mobile node management application encompassing all the features of a Bitcoin lightning wallet. This app simplifies Bitcoin payments, granting users absolute authority over financial transactions. 

Furthermore, it empowers advanced users to handle their Lightning nodes at their fingertips effortlessly.

About Damus

Damus is a conventional decentralized social media platform featuring a simplistic user interface. It is constructed upon the widely adopted decentralized social media protocol called Nostr. 

Damus seeks to eliminate censorship in social interactions while functioning as the preferred end-to-end messaging system. Acknowledging that Nostr operates as the underlying software protocol while Damus serves as the actual application is imperative. When combined, their names bear a striking resemblance to Nostradamus, the renowned French astrologer.