Tech titan Apple is reportedly allowing purchases of non-fungible tokens (NFTs) in its App Store marketplace.
A report from the tech outlet The Information says Apple is requiring NFT sellers on its mobile marketplace to use the App Store’s in-app payment functionality, which charges a 30% commission.
That’s significantly higher than the standard commission on the popular NFT marketplace OpenSea, which is around 2.5% of the sale price. And Apple’s in-app payment system requires users to pay with fiat currency instead of crypto.
Reporter Aidan Ryan says in a tweet that many startups are limiting functionality within their apps to avoid the 30% fee.
“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.”
The report says that Magic Eden, an NFT marketplace based on the Solana (SOL) blockchain, withdrew its service from the App Store after Apple introduced the policy on digital collectibles.
The move by Apple to allow the sale of NFTs on its App Store comes weeks after Starbucks teamed up with Polygon (MATIC), an Ethereum (ETH) scaling solution, to offer customers on its loyalty program chance to purchase and earn NFT stamps. The initiative, which will go live later this year, is known as Starbucks Odyssey.
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