Apple To Allow NFT-Selling Apps on Its App Store

Apple will now permit users to install NFT-selling apps through its App Store. New apps may now contain NFTs, and creators of existing apps may directly sell NFTs inside of them. But many people are concentrating on Apple’s massive 30% cut of every sale. The software giant Apple decided to charge a 30% commission on NFTs sold through applications on its marketplace, thereby bringing NFT sales on par with standard in-app purchases. Non-fungible token (NFT) software companies and others have objected to this move.

‘Grotesquely Overpriced’ Is What People Are Saying

The tech firm now enables NFTs to be purchased and sold via applications listed on its marketplace. However, it still charges a 30% standard levy on in-app purchases, which is identical to the 30% charge made by Android’s google play store.

However, some have criticised the commission rate as ‘grotesquely overpriced’—especially when contrasted with the average NFT marketplace rates, which hang around 2.5%.

Epic Games CEO Tim Sweeney stated that Apple is “killing” another technological innovation that “may rival its ludicrously costly in-app payment service,” and tech blogger Florian Mueller described Apple’s “app tax” on NFT sales as “exploitative but consistent.”

A ‘White Sheep’ In the ‘Black Flock’

However, a web3-based CEO named Gabriel Leydon sees the bright side of the situation: “Everyone is fixated on apple taking its 30% part of each trade without recognising this could put an ETH wallet in every mobile game onboarding 1B+ users!” He continued to say that he would HAPPILY offer Apple a 30% cut of a free NFT.

Along with the 30% transaction fee issue, the business is not currently accepting cryptocurrencies. They don’t want to receive anything other than traditional fiat currencies, which only a few projects do.

Despite Apple’s offer to reduce its commission to 15%, the popular Solana (SOL) NFT market Magic Eden pulled its services from the Software Store after becoming aware of the company’s policy, according to the report, even if the app is still available there as of this writing.

According to reports, other NFT marketplaces on the App Store have restricted operations due to the high commissions. The additional difficulty of executing transactions in dollars rather than cryptocurrencies poses a threat, given the erratic nature of crypto spaces.

Deja Vu

The publisher of Epic Games’ flagship game, Fortnite, attempted to sell in-game purchases that avoided Apple’s commissions, and as a result, the game was removed from the App Store in August 2020. This is not the first time businesses have fought Apple over its commissions. Epic Games has initiated legal action.

OpenSea, Rarible, and Magic Eden are three NFT marketplace applications currently available in the application store. Binance, Crypto.com, and Coinbase Wallet are three cryptocurrency exchange marketplace applications.