Apple has published its App Store rules around NFTs and cryptocurrency exchanges, marking the first time its included specific rules pertaining to NFTs.
The new rules confirm how NFT purchases will be taxed and what they can and can’t be used for while also clarifying rules around when a crypto exchange app can be listed.
Apps may use in-app purchase 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 NFT ownership does not unlock features or functionality within the app.
Apps may allow users to browse NFT collections owned by others, provided that the apps may not include buttons, external links, or other calls to action that direct customers to purchasing mechanisms other than in-app purchase.
However, Apple is double-downing on its “Apple tax” when it comes to NFTS, lumping in-app NFT purchases into its standard 30% commission rate on all purchases — by making sure all NFT purchases are conducted in-app.
The new rules also prevents apps from using mechanisms “such as QR codes, cryptocurrencies, and cryptocurrency wallets,” which could be used to unlock content or functionality within an app.
Apple’s guidelines have also ruled out using crypto for in-app purchases, allowing only fiat currency purchases with a “valid payment method” such as debit or credit cards.
The new guidelines make no changes to Apple’s existing policy on cryptocurrency trading apps put forward by exchanges such as Binance and Coinbase where trades are not subject to the 30% “Apple tax”.
However, new language was added to clarify that crypto exchange apps can only be offered in their app in “countries or regions where the app has appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange.”
