Apple App Store's policies have been controversial for the past years, especially since a lot of developers think that the company is only collecting an unfair amount of transaction fees from them.
Well, the Cupertino giant is planning to continue this trend and impose a 30% commission for all NFT apps that will be sold through iOS.
Apple Wants to Collect 30% Commission From NFT Deals
NFT startups have been growing in numbers since last year. Several investors think that spending dimes on non-fungible tokens can net them a nice profit. However, some NFT sellers struggle due to high transaction fees. It seems Apple will catch up to its rule of sticking to a 30% commission from the NFT marketplace.
According to Apple Insider, some NFT trading firms are reportedly interested in exploring doing business on the App Store. Although a small number of companies express their desire to be on the App Store, other startups do not want to get involved with the tech titan.
Apple has told startups it must sell NFTs through in-app purchases, forcing many startups to limit functionality in apps to dodge fees up to 30% of the transaction, even when the startups are only facilitating the trades. My latest for @theinformation https://t.co/2pKamhLmCp
— Aidan Ryan (@aidanfitzryan) September 23, 2022
For the in-app NFT purchases done on the App Store, Apple is taking a 30% commission on all trades. The Information recently noted that Magic Eden, a known NFT gaming startup, has withdrawn its service on the App Store after learning about this policy.
It should be noted that all transactions made in the App Store will involve US dollars. This is because the iPhone maker does not want to do transactions using cryptocurrencies.
Because of this, the exchange rate of cryptos could vary as a result. The developers will have no way to set an equivalent value of them in USD.
When Apple learned about the Information's news, the company said that the imposed higher fees could possibly drive away NFT startups from entering their marketplace.
This situation is not new to Apple since it has already encountered Epic Games with a similar concern.
Related Article: Apple App Store's 30 Percent Tax is '10 Times Higher' Than What Elon Musk Expects for Developers
NFT Startups Are Concerned With Apple's Fixed Prices
Other than that, some NFT firms are worried about Apple's unfair treatment of fixed pricing for in-app purchases. For instance, Rarible CEO Alexei Falin believes that the tech company "doesn't really want App Store users" to engage in buying or selling non-fungible assets, per Apple Insider.
Additionally, there's another issue with Apple. Some people discovered that the company has a bad reputation for delaying the approval for NFT and crypto apps on the platform.
Falin says that Apple approved their request to operate on the App Store for some months. Google Play Store only does it for several days.
If Apple refrains from taxing NFT sales on the App Store, maybe it could garner more investors and companies to enter its marketplace. This would also give a leeway for developers to experiment with some developments on the market.
This article is owned by Tech Times
Written by Joseph Henry
