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Coinbase has revealed that it disabled NFT transfers on the iOS wallet due to Apple’s app store policies.
Apple Blocks Latest Coinbase Updates
Coinbase pointed fingers at Apple, claiming that its app store policies forced the crypto firm to remove NFT transfers from the Wallet app on iOS. As a result, iPhone users will not be able to access the Coinbase platform to trade NFTs anymore. The crypto company tweeted on Thursday that Apple has blocked its latest app release since it wanted a significant share in the transaction fees. Apple refused to unblock the app update unless the NFT trading tool was removed.
The Twitter thread from Coinbase starts off with,
“You might have noticed you can't send NFTs on Coinbase Wallet iOS anymore. This is because Apple blocked our last app release until we disabled the feature.”
Apple Demands Cut Of Gas Fees
According to Coinbase, the tech giant demanded that all NFT transactions be facilitated through its in-app purchasing system, which would give them a 30% cut.
Coinbase has pointed out that meeting such demands would have been impossible, primarily because the in-app system does not support crypto payments. Since any transaction on the Ethereum blockchain (used by most NFT projects) incurs a fee collected entirely in cryptocurrency, it would not be possible for Apple to collect a cut.
The team tweeted,
“For anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is clearly not possible. Apple’s proprietary In-App Purchase system does not support crypto so we couldn’t comply even if we tried.”
Coinbase Appeals To Apple
Coinbase launched its NFT marketplace back in May 2022. In the recent tiff with Apple, the crypto company claims to have been forced to remove the wallet function from the iPhone app. The Coinbase team has compared the situation to if Apple tried to take a cut out of every single email sent across open internet protocols. They also pointed out that iPhone users will have a harder time transferring their NFTs to other wallets. The team also appealed to Apple, asking for further conversation on the matter. However, in one of their tweets, they claimed that the tech company was prioritizing profits over consumer service.
“Simply put, Apple has introduced new policies to protect their profits at the expense of consumer investment in NFTs and developer innovation across the crypto ecosystem…We hope this is an oversight on Apple’s behalf and an inflection point for further conversations with the ecosystem.”
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