Apple continues to clarify its contentious position on NFTs.
According to Apple Insider, the tech giant updated its App Store Review Guidelines on Monday with new language regarding NFTs. In short, NFTs are permitted within App Store apps, but they cannot unlock additional features or content.
The new guidelines state that “apps may use in-app purchases to sell and sell services related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as minting, listing, and transferring.” “Apps may allow users to view their own NFTs, provided that ownership of the NFT does not unlock features or functionality within the app.”
This may actually discourage users from purchasing NFTs, as one of their primary uses is to unlock token-gated content. The Moonbirds NFTs and Bored Ape Yacht Club NFTs, for example, provide holders with exclusive access to various communication channels, merchandise, and other such perks.
Furthermore, developers are not permitted to create “buttons, external links, or other calls to action” that instruct users on how to bypass the App Store and purchase NFTs from other platforms. Instead, the App Store prefers that users make in-app purchases.
And paying with cryptocurrency is not an option.
The App Store Review Guidelines are significant because they inform developers about what they can and cannot publish to the App Store. Violations of such policies may result in the app being rejected or removed.
This latest update doubling down on in-app purchases makes sense, given that Apple previously announced it would take a 30% cut of all NFTs sold in apps available on its platform.
A month ago, Epic Games CEO and crypto supporter Tim Sweeney said Apple’s 30% NFT fee “must be stopped” because it was “crushing another nascent technology that could rival its grotesquely overpriced in-app payment service.”
Aside from NFTs, Apple has revised some of the language surrounding cryptocurrency exchange apps available on its App Store.
The guidelines state that “apps may facilitate transactions or transmissions of cryptocurrency on an approved exchange, provided they are offered only in countries or regions where the app has appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange.”
Apple has yet to respond to The Daily Scrypt’s request for comment.
