A few days ago, a report from The Information revealed that Apple would now allow the sale of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on its applications… But that the bill would be high for sellers. We take a look at this information, and at the difficulty of taking NFTs into account by the tech giant
Apple’s exorbitant commissions on in-app sales
This 30% figure is not entirely surprising. This is the typical commission that Apple charges for in-app purchases. NFTs listed on apps available in the Apple Store will have to submit to these commissions in order to be sold. At least that’s what the tech giant has told the startups involved.
According to The Information, companies offering NFTs have been de facto forced to limit the features offered on their iOS apps, as the fees are too high to be viable. It should also be noted that Apple does not facilitate any payments, its role is limited to authorising the application on its App Store.
A process not well suited to the ecosystem
The hegemonic Apple hasn’t particularly changed its methods. But this time, they apply to a domain that is not really used to paying such exorbitant fees to access a marketplace. This was not lost on Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, who made his displeasure known on Twitter:
Now Apple is killing all NFT app businesses it can’t tax, crushing another nascent technology that could rival its grotesquely overpriced in-app payment service. Apple must be stopped. https://t.co/4KChp6jtFZ
– Tim Sweeney (@TimSweeneyEpic) September 23, 2022
“Apple is killing all the NFTs companies it can’t tax, once again crushing new technology that could compete with its overpriced in-app payments services. Apple must be stopped. “
Another barrier for startups: in-app transactions must be made in dollars. This is holding back companies that previously focused on cryptocurrency-only transactions. According to Alexei Falin, CEO of NFT sales platform Rarible, this is no accident:
“It looks like Apple doesn’t really want users to be able to buy or sell NFTs. It’s almost impossible because of subscriptions or fixed prices. “
Apple has not particularly distinguished itself by being open to the crypto ecosystem in recent years. Its CEO Tim Cook explained in 2019 that he considered digital currencies to be the preserve of governments:
” We elect our representatives to take on the responsibilities of government. Businesses are not elected, they don’t have to go there. “
Still, the addition of NFT sales is a sign of openness, but the tech giant will have to do more than just open the door to attract companies in the sector.
