Apple Sued Over Fake Bitcoin Wallet App Linked To $1.8 Million Losses

Apple is facing a lawsuit in the United States after three customers alleged they collectively lost around $1.8 million by downloading a counterfeit Bitcoin wallet from the App Store. The complaint, filed on Friday in the US District Court for the Northern District of California, accuses the technology giant of failing to prevent a fraudulent application from appearing on its platform despite promoting the App Store as a secure and trusted marketplace. The lawsuit argues that Apple's app review process did not adequately protect users from impersonation scams.

The plaintiffs—identified as James Ramirez, Christopher Ellis and Jalen Delgado—claim they unknowingly downloaded a fake version of the popular Sparrow Wallet cryptocurrency application. According to the complaint, they entered their wallet seed phrases into the counterfeit app, allowing scammers to gain access to their Bitcoin holdings. The alleged losses total approximately $875,000, $840,000 and $120,000, respectively. Sparrow Wallet's legitimate version continues to operate on Windows, macOS and Linux, while its developer, Craig Raw, has previously criticised Apple over the presence of fake versions on the App Store.

Apple said it has since removed applications impersonating Sparrow Wallet and terminated the developer accounts responsible for distributing them. The company also stated that both developers and users can report apps that violate App Store guidelines, after which Apple investigates and takes appropriate action. In response to the broader allegations, Apple highlighted its extensive app review process, saying every app submitted to the App Store is evaluated by members of its App Review team before being approved for distribution.

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The lawsuit contends that Apple has built its brand around claims of security and reliability, encouraging users to trust the App Store as a safe source for software downloads. The plaintiffs argue that because Apple exercises exclusive control over app distribution on its devices, consumers rely on the company's assurances that applications available through the platform have been adequately vetted. They allege that this responsibility was not met in the case of the counterfeit Bitcoin wallet.

The case comes amid a broader rise in cryptocurrency-related cybercrime. According to market insights provider Unfolded, citing data from DefiLlama, the second quarter of 2026 has already become the most hacked quarter on record for crypto protocols, with 83 reported security breaches. Among the largest incidents were the KelpDAO hack, which resulted in losses of about $293 million, and the Drift Protocol exploit, valued at approximately $280 million, underscoring the growing cybersecurity challenges facing the digital asset industry.

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