Is anyone actually using the Blockchain mobile wallet anymore? Or better yet, does anyone at Blockchain.info bother to test their wallet app before fat fingering the publish button?

Tonight I had the pleasure of discovering that the latest iOS version of the Blockchain Mobile Wallet has a dangerously defective QR code scanner. What’s so bad about it, you ask?

Well, it refuses to parse embedded Bitcoin amounts (bitcoin:ADDRESS?amount=X.XXXXXXXX) beyond 5 decimal places.

In case you weren’t aware, Bitcoin is uniquely precise to the 8th decimal point, and many merchant services won’t register a payment unless the EXACT amount is sent.

So tonight I found myself anxiously scratching my head. I paid a Coinbase merchant invoice and then proceeded to wait, and wait…. and wait, as the sans-serif countdown ticked ever closer to expiration.

After much investigation, I came to learn that the latest version of the iOS Blockchain Wallet was… wait for it…

ROUNDING UP!

Yes, that’s right. For a protocol and technology which supports (and often demands) 8 decimals of precision, the guys at Blockchain.info thought it would be fortuitous if they just, you know, ditched the last 3 digits.

So, while Coinbase displayed an appropriate QR code, my wallet sent the wrong amount (to the tune of 3 micro cents). As someone accustomed to paying bitcoin invoices, and given the small amount, I didn’t bother to triple-check the amount before pressing SEND.

Blockchain Wallet used to be the [best|only] gig in town, but much in the spirit of modern art, software integrity has been sacrificed for a fleetingly flashy UI.

So, Bitcoiner beware. Avoid this junker at all costs.

If you’re stuck on iOS, use BreadWallet.

If you had the good luck or fortune to trade your fruit phone for an R2D2, check out Mycelium. She’ll always treat you right.