Iphone Users Can Now Buy Bitcoins Directly Inside Breadwallet

The bitcoin wallet Breadwallet has just launched the ability for users to buy bitcoins from inside their iOS app. This feature will be rolled out over the next two weeks, starting today. Bitcoin.com talked to founder and lead developer Aaron Voisine to find out more about this new on-ramp to Bitcoin.

Also read: Popular Bitcoin App Breadwallet to Launch Built-In Exchange

Controlled Rollout

According to Breadwallet’s announcement:

Starting today, iphone users in the United States will start receiving the ability to buy bitcoin through the breadwallet app, either with cash at one of thousands of retail locations and bitcoin ATMs, or by linking a bank account.

Initially, not all Breadwallet users can access this feature. “This will be a controlled rollout” available for only a small number of users, according to the company. “We’ll be enabling for 10% of users (randomly chosen) on launch day, and then ramping it up to all users over the next two weeks”, Voisine told Bitcoin.com.

“At launch the service is available in the US, excluding NY”, he explained, reiterating that users can only exchange their US dollars for bitcoin currently. However, he noted that “we will continue adding more locations and local currencies going forward”. Following this iOS launch, he said:

The android version is in the works and is planned for roll out next quarter.

Last December, the company invited US and Canadian iOS users to beta test buying bitcoin with cash. The company described at the time that “options include both bitcoin ATMs and physical store locations where you can purchase bitcoin from a cashier”. It noted that all “the nearby options for purchasing bitcoin with cash” will be displayed on a map once the user choose the “Buy Bitcoin” option and then “Cash” within the app.

Using Kraken for Bank Transfers

“The payment processing will be handled by our exchange partners in each locality”, Voisine explained, adding that “our launch partner in the US market for bank transfers is Kraken”. He also noted that, after paying in fiat, “the funds are sent upon completion of the ACH transfer, which is typically 3 to 5 days”.

He detailed:

The conversion rate is the market spot rate at the time the order is placed. The exchange fee is 1%.

Kraken has been offering the ability for wallets to buy bitcoin in-app since it acquired non-custodial wallet funding service Glidera last December, renaming it Kraken Direct. The service offers “one-click buying and selling of bitcoin” from a wallet via ACH bank transfers and “never takes custody of their funds during the process”, Kraken’s website explains. The company claims to currently support “around 10 of the top wallets including Airbitz, Copay, Mycelium and Multibit, with many more in the development pipeline”.

Following this iOS launch, “we’ll be quickly adding new locations and local currencies for bitcoin purchasing”, Voisine conveyed. “We’re also working hard to bring other new financial service offerings, as well as improved user experience around sending and receiving bitcoin (like BIP75) without compromising on the security, openness, or decentralization of the platform”.

Would you use the Breadwallet app to buy bitcoins? Let us know in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of Shutterstock, Kraken and Breadwallet

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