Exactly.

If I ask my mom or dad about bitcoin, they won't think "decentralized crypto currency", but "isn't that what they used on that silkroad site I heard about on Fox News a while back??"

I don't see how having a Bitcoin wallet app makes them unsafe. There are plenty of non-mainstream apps in the store as well.

A lot of mainstream media reports paint Bitcoin as essentially a currency for buying drugs.

So what? Anyone with a brain knows the media does this thing called "sensationalism" and does not accurately reflect reality.

It's nothing to do with that, there are plenty of apps on the app store that are designed for very niche markets. The true intentions are hidden, but based on past behaviour I'd say Apple are trying to lock down the financial transactions on their devices so they can always take a cut. Does seem increasingly likely that phones will become the 'wallet of the future', Apple aren't likely to give up control of that lightly.

I agree. It's just the same position as they have for pornographic apps.

Good for them gettin the evil bitcoiners off the iPhones

Exactly-- that's also why they allow SSH apps. For all the soccer moms who need to SSH into their servers from their phones.