Apple explicitly prohibits the use of iOS devices for "mining"

According to US financial media CNBC, technology giant Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) has updated its developer guide to explicitly prohibit the use of iOS devices to "mine" encrypted digital currencies such as Bitcoin.

Apple's new rules restrict apps that drain battery, generate excessive heat or put unnecessary strain on device resources, all of which can occur in so-called Bitcoin "mining" activities.

"Apps — including any third-party advertising displayed within apps — may not run unrelated background processes such as cryptocurrency mining," Apple said on its website.

Since mining bitcoins requires a lot of power and computing power, it is unlikely that people can successfully mine bitcoins with just an iPhone or iPad. However, Apple's move could preemptively prevent people from using iOS devices to mine for future, less power-intensive digital currencies, or from pooling multiple devices to mine cryptocurrencies.

The updated information on Apple's website is as follows:

【2.4 Hardware compatibility

2.4.2 Apps should be designed with energy conservation in mind. Apps should not drain battery power quickly, generate excessive heat, or put unnecessary pressure on device resources. Apps—including any third-party ads displayed within apps—may not run unrelated background processes such as cryptocurrency mining.

The updated developer guidelines include cryptocurrencies, but the wording remains unchanged from an archived version recorded by WaybackMachine, a website history query service tool under the Internet Archive, in late May.

Apple’s cryptocurrency developer guide was originally introduced in 2014 after Coinbase and other cryptocurrency apps were removed from the App Store due to an “unresolved issue” with the apps, according to Apple Insider, a tech blog that first reported the update on Monday.

The Apple Insider report did not specify when Apple updated the policy, and Apple has not yet responded to CNBC's request for comment.

Cryptocurrency "mining" is basically a mathematical process, often performed by high-powered computers. In order to trade bitcoins, complex mathematical equations are used to verify the transaction, which is then added to the so-called "distributed ledger"; in return for solving the equation, the miner can get bitcoins.

According to bitcoin mining company Coinmint, running this process on a computer consumes 1,400 watts of electricity, the same as a hair dryer.

In Apple's iOS App Store, many apps claim to allow users to "mine" using their personal devices, including "Crypto Coin Miner" and "Cryptocurrency Cloud Mining", the latter of which claims to allow users to "earn money and obtain cryptocurrencies" without making significant investments.

Cryptocurrency markets saw heavy selling over the weekend after South Korean cryptocurrency exchange Coinrail said it had fallen victim to a hack.

Coinrail, the 99th-ranked cryptocurrency exchange with a 24-hour trading volume of $2.66 million, said in a statement on its website on Monday that its systems had been "infiltrated" on Sunday, resulting in a loss of about 30% of the cryptocurrencies traded on the exchange. Coinrail did not specify the value of the cryptocurrencies involved, but local news outlet Yonhap estimated that unnamed sources said a total of about 40 billion won (about $37.28 million) worth of virtual currencies were stolen in the incident.

Last Sunday's sharp drop pushed Bitcoin prices to their lowest level since April 12, breaking an important trend line that technical analysts are watching. In addition, market analyst Jani Ziedins pointed out that Bitcoin prices have fallen below $7,000, a level that is critical to investor psychology, which may mean that Bitcoin will usher in another wave of selling in the future. In trading so far this year, Bitcoin prices have fallen by about 50%.