Apple Will Permit Third-Party App Stores To Benefit NFTs And Crypto

In a win for developers of crypto apps, new EU laws will force Apple to let other app stores and apps work without going through its App Store.

Apple is ready to let third-party app stores run on its devices to meet new anti-monopoly rules from the European Union (EU). It is a massive win for crypto and NFT app developers, at least in Europe.

Under the new rules, European customers could download app marketplaces other than Apple’s App Store. It would let them download apps that get around Apple’s 30% commissions and app restrictions, according to a Bloomberg report from December 13 that cited people familiar with the situation.

Apple has strict rules for NFT apps that force users to make in-app purchases. Apple takes a 30% cut-off, and apps cannot accept cryptocurrency payments.

Apple’s rule meant that Coinbase’s update to its self-custody wallet app was blocked on December 1. It was because Apple wanted to “collect 30% of the gas fee” through in-app purchases, which Coinbase said was “clearly not possible.”

It then said that Apple wanted the wallet to stop NFT transactions if they couldn’t be done through its in-app purchase system.

Alex Salnikov, the co-founder of the NFT marketplace Rarible, tweeted on December 13 in response to the news that a “crypto app store” could be built and would be a “great candidate” for a startup backed by venture capital.

Apple’s decision to open its ecosystem responds to the EU’s Digital Markets Act, which aims to regulate “gatekeepers” and ensure platforms act pretty. One of the act’s measures is to let “third parties work with the gatekeeper’s services.”

It will go into effect in May 2023, and businesses must comply by 2024.

Apple has yet to decide if it will follow a part of the act that lets app developers add payment systems that don’t involve Apple. It could make it possible for cryptocurrency to be used in payment systems.

To protect users from unsafe apps, the tech giant is considering making security requirements for software outside of its store, like verification from Apple.

Changes to Apple’s closed ecosystem would only happen in the EU. Other places would need to pass similar laws, like the Open App Markets Act that Senators Marsha Blackburn and Richard Blumenthal have proposed in the US Congress.