Apple's Crypto Connections: Payments Omissions and Blockchain Potential
Apple's latest product launch event, led by new CEO John Ternus, introduced the iPhone 18 Pro, Pro Max, and Apple's first foldable smartphone, the Duo. While the crypto community poked fun at the devices' prices in BTC terms, several other aspects of the event deserve attention.
One notable omission was any mention of payment-related news, which is a significant area of interest for the crypto asset industry. This includes the possibility of Apple natively supporting crypto asset payments and adding them to its wallet.
In June 2026, Apple announced new Wallet and Apple Cash features at WWDC, but these developments did not extend to September's hardware launch event. However, the company is actively building out its payments capabilities, expanding Apple Cash into bill-splitting and opening Wallet to user-created passes.
The structure of these services resembles what will be required of a licensed stablecoin issuer in the U.S., starting in 2027, a nonbank layer on top of a chartered bank. This has led some to speculate that stablecoins might be Apple's first choice for expanding Split Bill with Apple Cash outside the U.S.
In other areas, Apple is exploring ways to improve its Photo-Authenticity System using public blockchains. The company launched an optional feature called Apple Reference Image, which allows users to prove a picture hasn't been altered by showing the reference image next to the ordinary photo. However, this method requires trust in Apple's accuracy.
Public blockchains can provide cryptographic proof of the original timestamped picture, as demonstrated by Bitcoin developer Peter Todd's Opentimestamps project. This could potentially improve Apple's Photo-Authenticity System, but it also raises concerns about governments accessing secret keys to fake photos.