Startup and trading NFT firms claim they avoid the App Store because it is too expensive for them to use with Apple’s regulations and 30% commission.
The erratic value of cryptocurrencies has had an impact on the market value of NFTs, or non-fungible token businesses. Accordingly, startup and trading businesses in the sector would want to be listed on the App Store in order to reach a larger audience, but the majority won’t do it.
The Information claims that Apple is now demanding that all trades include payment of the standard 30% fee from in-app purchases. Due to this, NFT company Magic Eden has never been able to offer trading through its app, even when Apple lowered its commission to 15% for businesses with annual revenues under $1 million.
A typical marketplace only retains 2% to 3% of the transaction when consumers trade NFTs. Companies would lose a lot of money on every deal under Apple’s regulations.
However, the commission isn’t the only problem. According to the Information, a number of NFT companies struggle with the requirement that in-app purchases on the App Store be made in dollars or another physically-backed currency. Bitcoin is not accepted here.
Developers are unable to simply establish an equal in dollars because of the wide variations in cryptocurrency exchange rates.
This problem “makes it really hard to price it because you have to program all these values in dynamically,” Arthur Sabintsev of blockchain business Pocket Network told the publication.
According to Sabintsev, he has recommended one of his clients to let users purchase in-app currency similarly to how other games do. They purchase the currency, with Apple receiving 30% of the sale, and then they use it to purchase items in-app.
Particularly challenging is the sale of NFTs through apps.
“It feels like the position is that Apple doesn’t really want [App Store] users to be able to purchase or sell NFTs,” said Alexei Falin, CEO of NFT startup marketplace Rarible. “[It’s] almost impossible because it’s fixed subscriptions or fixed prices.”
Perhaps supporting that assertion is the alleged delay in Apple’s approval of NFT and cryptocurrency apps for the App Store. Falin claims that whereas it only took days for the Google Play Store, it took many months to get the Rarible app onto the App Store.
This does indicate that these apps are entering the store, but it appears that they are mostly serving as advertisements for their products. Instead of being completed via an app, actual sales or transactions are being forwarded to a browser site.
Apple reportedly told The Information that its 500 reviewers assess 90% of apps within 24 hours but did not particularly address the problem of NFT software delays. Apple steered the article to the App Store’s general regulations rather than responding to any of the other NFT issues.
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