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Apple bans cryptocurrency mining on iPhones and iPads

Sorry, Bitcoin miners on the go.

Marrian Zhou Staff Reporter
Marrian Zhou is a Beijing-born Californian living in New York City. She joined CNET as a staff reporter upon graduation from Columbia Journalism School. When Marrian is not reporting, she is probably binge watching, playing saxophone or eating hot pot.
Marrian Zhou

Apple is cracking down on cryptocurrency activity on its devices.

During Apple's Worldwide Developers Conference last week, the company released new App Store guidelines that ban cryptocurrency mining on both iOS devices and Mac. AppleInsider first spotted the changes to the policy on Monday.

This is the first time Apple has offered a clear stance on its policy on cryptocurrency apps. It comes amid explosive interest in cryptocurrencies like bitcoin, which are "mined" when people use multiple devices to solve complex mathematical problems that lock and unlock information in the blockchain. They're rewarded as each transaction is secured.

"Apps, including any third-party advertisements displayed within them, may not run unrelated background processes, such as cryptocurrency mining," Apple said under the hardware compatibility section of its App Store policy.

Apply didn't immediately respond to request for comment.

Cryptocurrency mining has become a popular way for people to make money. But mining needs a lot of computing power, prompting users to buy pricey graphics cards and utilize large networks of devices, which include iPhones and iPads .

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