Apple Blocks Coinbase Wallet Because of NFTs

In a recent Tweet, Coinbase accused Apple of blocking their latest Coinbase Wallet app from the apple store and on iOS. Coinbase claims that because Apple wants 30% of the gas fees on NFT transactions and are breaking Apple’s policy on in-app revenue. 

Apple’s claim is that the gas fees required to send NFTs need to be paid through their In-App Purchase system, so that they can collect 30% of the gas fee.

— Coinbase Wallet (@CoinbaseWallet) December 1, 2022

Although it’s true that Coinbase is not sharing any portion of revenue from gas fees with Apple, they are doing so because it is not possible to share cryptocurrency with the app store because Apple has not implemented it into their marketplace. 

Coinbase argues that Apple would do better to understand and adopt cryptocurrencies in their business models so that they can help encourage and become a part of the web3 industry instead of pushing it further away from their user base. 

The acquisition comes during a similar argument that is brewing between Elon Musk and Apple over Twitter following Musk’s acquisition of the social media app. Although settled as a misunderstanding, Musk’s acquisition of Twitter shows potential for crypto to grow and it appears Apple is not fully onboard with crypto yet.