Apple to allow NFT-related apps on its App Store

Tech giant Apple is now accepting the addition of NFT apps and games to its App Store after some delay. New apps may now contain NFTs, and creators of existing apps may now sell NFTs via its store. However, a lot of people are concentrating on the company’s huge 30% cut of every transaction.

The 30% fee that the corporation is taking appears absurd to owners of projects, apps, and games because usual marketplaces like OpenSea and Magic Eden often take a commission of no more than 5% in general, and this will likely discourage them from adopting the new feature.

But the CEO sees the bright side: “Everyone is focusing on apple wanting its 30% cut of each transaction without realizing this could put an ETH wallet in every single mobile game onboarding 1B+ players!” He added, “I will HAPPILY give Apple a 30% cut of a free NFT.”

Apple has decided to let developers sell NFTs inside of games/apps. Everyone is focusing on apple wanting its 30% cut of each transaction without realizing this could put an ETH wallet in every single mobile game onboarding 1B+ players! https://t.co/BPJj3gD5r2

— Gabriel Leydon (@gabrielleydon) September 23, 2022

Notably, along with the 30% transaction fee issue, the company is not currently accepting cryptocurrencies. They simply don’t want to accept anything other than traditional fiat currency, which only a few projects do.

The Information claims that Magic Eden removed its service from the App Store after becoming aware of the policy. 

Apple and the NFT world

Apple hasn’t really participated in the NFT space—or even cryptocurrencies, for that matter—up until recently. Undoubtedly, Metamask, Coinbase, and other cryptocurrency wallets and exchanges are available on Apple devices. 

A former executive from the company moving to Disney to lead its Metaverse Creative Strategy is the only Apple-related NFT/web3 shift that has been observed. Moreover, there were rumors that the tech giant might release NFT trading cards at one of its developer conferences in June but it never really happened.

Several regulators around the world have inquired Apple and Google for crypto apps and in December last year, South Korea directed both of them to remove P2E games from their application stores.

Whether Apple will ever attempt to enter the NFT, crypto, or metaverse domains itself is unknown. But according to the general trend and massive regulatory pressure, it seem to be opposing crypto, if anything.