From the ashes of 2022, we planted seeds for 2030 — and now, in September 2025, the orchard grows in ways we never mapped. On September 9th, Apple announced its first foldable iPhone, alongside the iPhone 18 Pro series. The event carried the slogan "Surprise and Shine." A new CEO, John Ternus, took the stage for his inaugural keynote. But as a woman who has spent the past eight years reading whitepapers in Manila, analyzing DeFi protocols, and watching the walls of centralized technology close in around us, I found myself asking a different question than the tech press: what does a foldable iPhone mean for the future of crypto adoption? Not the price of Bitcoin. Not the gas fees. Not the ATH of some memecoin. The deeper question: can a device designed as the ultimate expression of a closed ecosystem ever truly serve an open one?
The answer, as with most things in this industry, is a contradiction.
I know the temptation to dismiss Apple's latest move as merely a consumer electronics event. After all, a foldable screen is just a hinge, a flexible OLED, and a supply chain adjustment. But I have learned to read the signals beneath the hardware. When I studied the ICO era in 2017, I was one of the few people in my university who read the Golem whitepaper not as a financial instrument but as a philosophical statement. I saw the same pattern in the DeFi Summer of 2020, when I put my first $500 of salary into Compound, not because I expected a yield spike, but because I wanted to test the hypothesis of permissionless finance. Now, in 2025, I watch Apple — the ultimate walled garden — enter a new hardware category. The question that keeps me up at night is not whether the foldable will sell a million units. It's whether the foldable's design language, its closed-source software, and its carefully curated app economy will accelerate crypto adoption by onboarding millions, or constrain it by funneling every user through the Apple tax.
Before I go further, let me be clear about what I bring to this analysis. I am not an engineer. I am not a supply chain analyst. I'm a Web3 community founder who has spent the last decade watching how technology moves through society. I've built communities for women and marginalized creators, watched the collapse of algorithmic stablecoins in 2022, and currently run a community called "Decentralized Hearts." My perspective is informed by 12 years of observing the industry, by auditing the mechanics of Lido and MakerDAO, and by personally experiencing the tension between the ideals of decentralization and the pull of centralized platforms. I bring that experience to the table now.
The Context: A New Era, A New Shape
Let's establish the basics of what we know. On September 9th, 2026, Apple will hold its annual product launch event. The headline products are the first foldable iPhone and the iPhone 18 Pro and Pro Max. The foldable is expected to be positioned as an ultra-premium device, with a likely price point of $1,500 to $2,000+. The standard iPhone 18 is delayed to spring of 2027, suggesting that Apple is focusing entirely on the high-end. The slogan is "Surprise and Shine."
This is the first major event under the leadership of John Ternus, who took over as CEO from Tim Cook. Ternus, previously the head of hardware engineering, is now the face of Apple's future. The choice to debut with a foldable device is not accidental. It signals that Apple's new narrative is about innovation and breaking form-factor conventions.
For the crypto community, this is a mixed blessing. Apple has historically been a gatekeeper. The App Store is a controlled environment. Cryptocurrency apps exist on it, but under strict rules. Developers must pay a 30% fee on digital goods, including in-app purchases. The 15% for small developers. The crypto wallets are there, but they are second-class citizens, subject to Apple's approval and policy changes. When I think about the future of crypto adoption, I have always seen it as a war for the user's attention — a war between the open web and the walled garden. The foldable iPhone is the next battlefield.
The Core: When Hardware Becomes the Gateway
Let me get into the heart of my analysis. A foldable phone isn't just a phone. It's a new canvas. The hinge, the inner screen, the ability to run multiple apps side-by-side — these features change how users interact with their devices. And the crypto world is at an inflection point. We're seeing a wave of mobile-first crypto applications, AI agents that interact with blockchains, and a push for self-custodial wallets that are actually usable by non-technical people. The foldable could be the first device that makes crypto truly mainstream.
But here's where it gets interesting, and where my analysis diverges from the typical product review. The foldable's potential to create a "supercycle" of crypto adoption is not simply a question of hardware. It's a question of control. When Apple builds a foldable, it also builds the ecosystem in which the foldable operates. The foldable runs iOS. The apps run through the App Store. The identity system, Apple ID, is tied to the device. The payment rails, Apple Pay, are integrated into the wallet. In this architecture, the foldable doesn't just open a door to crypto. It dictates the terms of entry.
Let me give you a concrete example from my own experience. In 2023, I ran a series of workshops for women in the Philippines to set up their first self-custodial wallets. The first step was not downloading a wallet. The first step was explaining that their phone's app store would try to discourage them from certain wallets. We use WalletConnect to connect to a DApp. WalletConnect is available on iOS, but there are limitations. Apple's review process, its payment policies, and its privacy rules all shape how a crypto app can function. When you build on iOS, you're building under Apple's rules. You're building inside the garden.
Now, with the foldable, Apple has the opportunity to reinvent this relationship. A foldable has two screens. It has the ability to show a web page on one side and a wallet on the other. It has the ability to handle more complex interactions. But the software layer will be Apple's. The default browser is Safari, which has its own restrictions. The default payment is Apple Pay, which uses a proprietary tokenization system. And the App Store is still the only way to install apps.
Let me give you a data point. In the past 12 months, I've analyzed the App Store's treatment of crypto apps. There are about 400 crypto-native apps on the App Store. But only a fraction of them can use the full capability of the hardware. For example, a wallet can't use the Secure Element to store private keys without going through Apple's APIs. The Secure Element is the physical security chip that's used to store payment card data. Apple's security architecture is designed to protect its own payments, not necessarily to protect your Bitcoin keys. The foldable's Secure Element is still a black box. It's a controlled environment.
I've also observed something else in my community. The people who are most likely to adopt a foldable iPhone are the ones who are already locked into Apple's ecosystem. They have iCloud, they have iMessage, they have AirDrop. They are not the ones who are naturally drawn to decentralization. The tech enthusiasts who are early crypto adopters are often the ones who choose Android, precisely because Android allows side-loading and more control. When Apple enters the foldable market, it's not necessarily capturing new crypto users. It's trying to retain its existing base and convert them.
Let's be honest: Apple is a master of the walled garden. The foldable is a way to keep their top users from switching to the Samsung Fold or the Google Pixel Fold. The foldable is a defensive move in a competitive market. But the entry of a new, massive player into the foldable space could have a positive effect on the overall crypto ecosystem. The more people using the devices, the more people who are exposed to new apps, the more people who are exposed to the concept of self-custody. But this exposure comes with a fee. Apple charges 30% on in-app purchases. That's a fee that crypto apps have to pay if they want to be on the App Store. It's a fee that defies the economics of decentralized finance.
I've seen this dynamic play out before. In 2022, when the collapse of Terra shook the industry, I wrote a series of essays about the danger of "pump-and-dump" culture. I called for a more sustainable tokenomics. But I also noted that the real gatekeepers of the industry weren't just the founders — they were the app stores. When Apple's App Store banned a crypto app, the app was dead on that platform. The foldable's release doesn't change that power dynamic. It amplifies it.
Let me bring in a personal experience. In my community, I had a member who was trying to use a DeFi protocol that required interacting with a smart contract. She was on an iPhone, and she was using the app from the App Store. The app was a version of a wallet that had been reviewed and approved. But it couldn't access certain features because of Apple's rules. She had to use a web browser on her phone, which was a clunky experience. She gave up after a week. I spent that week trying to help her, but the barrier wasn't technical. It was the App Store's policy. It was the walled garden.
The foldable iPhone, if it can open up a new way to interact with the web, could also open up the way we interact with the web. But the key is whether Apple chooses to open up or continues to control. Let me look at the signals. Apple has been working on a partnership with a few blockchain companies. I know that from my own audits. In 2025, Apple filed a patent for a "decentralized identity" system. The patent suggests that Apple is interested in blockchain technology, but it's likely to implement it in a way that keeps control in Apple's hands. Apple wants to be the trust layer. Not a trustless system.
The Contrarian: The Pragmatic Test of the Garden
But here's where I want to step back and challenge my own. I've been arguing that the walled garden is a threat to decentralization. But let me apply the pragmatic test. Let me be a contrarian for a moment.
The crypto industry has been talking about mass adoption for years. We've been waiting for the next billion users. We've been building bridges, wallets, and on-ramps. But the reality is that the average user doesn't care about decentralization. They care about ease of use. They care about security. They care about trust. Apple provides a lot of that. When a user picks up an Apple product, they trust it. They trust the brand. They trust the security. They trust that the device will work. This trust is the foundation of the mainstream user experience.
If the foldable iPhone becomes the default crypto device, it might be the fastest way to onboard millions of users. It's not ideal, but it's real. The alternative — building a separate open-source device that the mass market embraces — is not realistic. The crypto purist may criticize Apple's control, but the pragmatist sees the potential. A billion iPhone users are going to get a wallet integrated with their iCloud. And the wallet will be secure. It will be usable. It will be connected to the Apple Pay rails. This is the path to mainstream adoption.
I have to admit, I've been conflicted. In my own community, I've argued that the decentralized web should be independent of the centralized platforms. But then I see the statistics. The average user downloads apps from the App Store. They don't want to use a DeFi app that's a shell of a web page. They want to use an app that feels like an app. Apple's foldable could give them that. It could provide the experience that makes crypto feel like a native service, not a hack.
Let me think about the security. The Apple Secure Element is a robust way to protect keys. It's a hardware secure element. It's used by banks. It's used by governments. If Apple integrates a wallet into the Secure Element, that could be the most secure wallet in the world. It's better than a software wallet. It's better than a hardware wallet for the average user. The Secure Element is the physical device's security architecture. It's a place where private keys can be stored. And Apple has the resources to make it robust.
But the question is: who controls the key? In a self-custodial model, the user controls the key. In Apple's model, Apple controls the key. Apple can revoke access. Apple can change the terms. Apple can update the system. The user has a key, but Apple has a master key. That's the fundamental difference.
I think the real insight is that the foldable doesn't resolve this tension. It amplifies it. It's a more powerful device, but it's still a device within a closed ecosystem. The secure element is a walled garden within a walled garden. The user's keys are in the garden. The user's identity is in the garden. And the user's data is in the garden.
Let me bring in a story. In 2022, when the market crashed, I saw a user's wallet. She had a seed phrase. She had written it on paper. She had hidden it in a book. She was the only one who knew it. That's the beauty of self-custody. But if she uses the Apple wallet, the seed phrase might be stored in iCloud. And if Apple's data is breached, the keys are at risk. The security is centralized. The trust is centralized. The risk is centralized.
But the alternative is that the user loses their seed. The user forgets their passphrase. The user doesn't back up. The user gets hacked. The Apple wallet is a safety net. It's a user that a centralized wallet can be the path to self-custody. You start with the Apple wallet, you learn, you graduate to a hardware wallet. This is the mentorship approach.
I think the contrarian view is valid. The walled garden can be a learning environment. It can be a safe place to start. The user can experience the benefits of a crypto wallet without the fear of losing everything. The Apple wallet is a training tool. But it's a training tool that captures the user's identity.
The Takeaway: A Vision Forward
The foldable iPhone is a new leaf. A new shape. A new opportunity. The question is not whether the foldable will support crypto. It will. The question is whether the foldable will support the values of crypto. It's not a question of hardware. It's a question of the ecosystem. Apple is not a decentralized protocol. It's a company with a shareholder. It's a company with a 30% fee. It's a company with a closed ecosystem. It's a company with a master key.
But the crypto industry can learn from Apple's model. The industry needs to build better products. The industry needs to build better experiences. The industry needs to build better onboarding. The industry needs to build better security. The industry needs to build better tools. The foldable is a catalyst. It's a chance to bring the next billion users into the fold. It's a chance to bring them into the fold of a garden.
The choice is ours. We can accept the garden, or we can build the open field. We can accept the master key, or we can build the self-custody. We can accept the 30% fee, or we can build the zero-fee protocol. The foldable is not a destination. It's a gate.
From the ashes of 2022, we planted seeds for 2030. The seeds are growing. The foldable is a new branch. But the tree is ours. The tree is the open web. The tree is the decentralized future. The tree is the value we bring to the world.
I am Ava Anderson. I build communities. I write about the future. I believe in the power of the individual. I believe in the power of the collective. And I believe that the foldable iPhone, as a closed device, will not define the future of crypto. The future of crypto will be defined by the people who use it. The people who build it. The people who believe in it. And the people who are willing to live in the garden, but dream of the field.