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iOS Wallet Space Continues Growth

YardWallet has published more background information to ease user concerns, newly released ArcBit puts privacy first, and popular app breadwallet gets an important update.

iOS wallet choices were once much more scarce than they are today. Though the choices were limited, each wallet was a strong candidate for storing funds. The high bar that has been maintained drives innovative features to new wallets, leading to a variety of choices for the Apple-friendly.

YardWallet is a HD wallet with a multisig vault. Although little information was previously available about the company, Hongfei Tien, founder of YardWallet, was kind enough to explain the company, and the features packed into the new iOS wallet.

After receiving his Master’s degree from MIT, Tian gathered over 15 years of prior experience in e-commerce and internet security with positions spanning the globe. After founding and running a technical marketing software company, he left to devote his attention to YardWallet and YardPay. He spoke at the Global Mobile Internet Conference about the two projects, in July this year.

The team works on both YardWallet and YardPay, a bitcoin payment processor with numerous partners in China. “We are a 6 person team funded by Shenzhoufu, a Hong Kong listed payment company,” Tian explains.

YardWallet is a user-friendly wallet that has some unique options. The interface is very simple to understand, and signing up is a painless process. “In YardWallet you have 2 accounts: Wallet and Vault. Wallet is for daily spending and small balance. Vault is for long term storage and large balance,” states the company documentation.

Vault mode is backed up by multisig, and two of the three keys are put in user control. The app supports BIP32 and BIP70 as many other wallets also do. While the app is not open-source, but could be in the future, there are still additional features in development which will add to a good foundation Tian and his team have built.

When sending and receiving transactions users must select their identity – a verified email or anonymity. If verified email is chosen, the contact information will be encrypted and attached to the transaction. This allows shorter conformation times for both sending and receiving coins with a trusted party, removing the need to wait for 6 confirmations. Though theses options are only available if both parties are using YardWallet, it is still a convenient system for those who don’t mind sacrificing anonymity.

His team also holds impressive credentials. Xuejiao Zhu holds a Master’s degree from TsingHua University and has been involved in bitcoin since 2011. Prior to co-founding YardWallet, he was a team leader for payment development at Sina. Fellow co-founder Kun Liu has many years in product design and management. After receiving two Bachelor’s degrees from Peking University he worked with NetEase as a team leader developing shopping search engines and product recommendations.

The newest contender in the App Store is ArcBit, sporting a solid amount of features in a simple-to-use package. Former software developer Tim Lee created this open-source wallet after parting ways with blockchain.info. His vision for the product is simple.

“I’ve built ArcBit in such a way that it doesn’t cost my users privacy”
— – Tim Lee, ArcBit Founder

The wallet requires no registration, stealth addresses are support, and uses of automatic address cycling, which are just a few indicators of the focus on privacy. ArcBit seems very lightweight despite the level of security it offers, while the interface is smooth, responsive, and simple to understand. Private keys never leave the phone, as it should be. HD wallet support is included and there is a loaded help section for any problems you may face with the multitude of features available.

Using ArcBit proved no trouble at all thanks to the interface, which is important when considering mass adoption. With so many features included on top of that, this wallet provides security at a level beyond many of it’s competitors.

There are a number of advanced options as well, such as picking your preferred block explorer API. “Currently we support Bitpay’s Insight and blockchain.info. You can also point ArcBit to your own Insight Server,” Lee explains. Though very new, a strong foundation makes this wallet a desirable choice. Lee went on to discuss his future plans, “There are still many features I would like to make it into ArcBit, [such as] payment protocols and multisig.”

“You can expect ArcBit to continually evolve as the Blockchain and Bitcoin evolves. When the lighting networks and confidential transactions hit the main net, you can expect ArcBit to make good use of it.”
— – Lee

A key selling point of ArcBit is the increased focus on anonymity. Although it is hard to match the security of dedicated hardware cold storage, ArcBit still goes the extra distance to look out for users.

There is no doubt that ArcBit is a top contender in the iOS App Store. More options are always welcome where needed, especially if they offer innovative functionality. It will be exciting to keep an eye on ArcBit and see the evolution that lies ahead.

Aaron Voisine has released an update for BreadWallet, his popular iOS app. The update patches a few minor bugs and introduces localized recovery phrases, which are helpful for international users who would prefer to not use English.

Also included is an update to the transaction fee calculation system, which is critical when the network is busy. Breadwallet will make sure to adjust fees accordingly, to get transactions through in a speedy fashion. Voisine is also committed to offering a free service for his many users.

“We will never charge for the app or sending/receiving bitcoin, just like Google searches and Twitter are free.”
— – Aaron Voisine, BreadWallet

Possibly the most exciting part of the update is the addition of a notification screen widget. Sending and receiving bitcoin can be as simple as swiping down on the phone, where a QR code and an address will be displayed. There is also the option of activating the camera to scan a QR code and send some bitcoin. Receiving bitcoin can now be done without even unlocking the iPhone, making this an incredibly convenient update.

iOS users now have a good bit of research to do when considering what wallet to choose, but rest assured that there are many reliable options available. Safety first!


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