Popular DeFi wallet MetaMask, with 21 million monthly users, was pulled off the Apple App Store for a few hours on Saturday. Although the crypto wallet app has now been restored, there has been no official explanation of the reason behind this incident.

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On October 14, multiple accounts on the X platform posted that the MetaMask wallet was no longer accessible on the Apple App Store. In addition, these reports also indicated that Apple Users were restricted from downloading the DeFi wallet app from its official website. 

Following this development, Taylor Monahan, Lead product manager at MetaMask, quickly took to X, assuring users that the situation was under control. Monahan said:

As far as I can tell it happened a couple hours ago and this was not something we ever expected to happen. Based on the limit info I have its something procedural (?) with the Apple account (not the app itself) and thus should be resolved as soon.

Soon after, a statement came from the DeFi’s wallet official X handle, which stated that its removal from the Apple App Store had no relation to any malicious activity. MetaMask said:

FYI: We’re aware that MetaMask isn’t currently available for download on the App Store. This is and not related to anything malicious, and our team is working hard to resolve it ASAP. We expect MetaMask to be back on the App Store shortly, and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused. 

In addition, the development team behind the wallet also admonished users against downloading fake versions of its application on the App Store. Such a warning is not far-fetched, as users have lost assets to bad actors through fake crypto wallets.

Most recently, American billionaire Mark Cuban lost $870,000 of digital assets in a hack that he attributed to downloading a counterfeit version of the MetaMask wallet. 

An hour after MetaMask’s statement, the crypto wallet returned to the Apple App Store. However, the reason for the initial removal remains largely unknown.

One possible explanation for MetaMask’s temporary absence from the Apple App Store could be Apple’s service policies, which are designed against apps with “background processes” such as crypto mining. 

In 2019, MetaMask experienced a similar issue, which resulted in its removal from the Google Play Store for a week. 

Other possible reasons behind the DeFi wallet’s suspension from the Apple App Store include trademark compliance, as in the case of PayPal and the TokenPocket wallet app in 2021. However, that is highly unlikely, considering MetaMask’s massive brand and long operation time.

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