Cryptocurrency exchange, Coinbase’s Wallet iOS application will no longer support NFT transactions due to Apple’s new strict policies on NFTs, also known as non-fungible tokens. On the 24th of October, the tech giant announced these strict new policies on NFTs in updates to its App Store Review Guidelines.
On the 1st of December, on Twitter, Coinbase Wallet said that you might have noticed you can’t send NFTs on Coinbase Wallet iOS anymore, which is because Apple blocked our last app release until we disabled the feature. However, Apple’s mobile app store has not outright banned NFTs, but it subjected NFTs to a hefty 30% tax on every transaction. According to Apple’s policies, if developers aren’t able to implement that requirement, their app will be blocked from the store, the same which occurred with the Coinbase Wallet iOS app.
In today’s tweet, Coinbase Wallet said that Apple wants to take a 30% fee on any gas fees, which is a transaction fee on the Ethereum network, paid on NFT transfers completed through the wallet app. This 30 % fee is not possible, Coinbase Wallet added. The exchange wallet said that for anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is not possible. Apple’s proprietary In-App Purchase system does not support crypto, so we could not comply even if we tried, Coinbase added.
Whenever a user makes a transaction on the Ethereum network or simply transfers an asset like an NFT to a different wallet, the user needs to pay a fee known as gas for this process. Because of this fee, the network runs, and without it, the user can’t make transactions or transfers on the network.
Apple took a heft fee on transactions, and Coinbase is not happy about these restrictions to its mobile application, as it said that Apple is trying to take cut-off fees for every email that gets sent over available Internet protocols. It’s not only Coibase that is angry with Apple’s new strict policies, as Polygon Studios CEO Ryan Wyatt called Apple a 30% tax criminal. Ryan believes that the tax will forever hold back technological progress because of its monopoly over the industry.
