Dan Finlay, co-founder of MetaMask and a former employee of Apple, thinks that the crypto sector should completely abandon the App Store because of Apple’s 30% in-app purchase tax, which he calls “an abuse of monopoly.”
Finlay responded to the news that Apple had previously restricted Coinbase’s iOS Wallet software unless it disabled NFT transfer features by writing, “I’ll totally stand in solidarity here.”
On Thursday, Coinbase’s Wallet made the announcement that users would no longer be able to trade or transfer NFTs through its iOS app. The company claimed that even if it wanted to pay the “Apple tax,” it would be unable to do so because Apple is not integrated with blockchains like Ethereum.
“I assume [MetaMask] and every other wallet is next,” Finlay tweeted today. “I’m ready to dump the Apple ecosystem. The 30% tax is an abuse of monopoly.”
Oh I'll absolutely stand in solidarity here, I assume MM and every other wallet is next. I'm ready to dump the Apple ecosystem. The 30% tax is an abuse of monopoly. @tim_cook has donned the Big Brother screen. https://t.co/tzcA0Ol658
— Dan Finlay 🦊💙 (@danfinlay) December 1, 2022
Finlay, though, is by no means the first supporter of cryptocurrency to criticize Apple’s approach. Tim Sweeney, the CEO of Epic Games, and Ryan Wyatt, the CEO of Polygon Studios, both expressed similar levels of disgust with the 30% in-app purchase tax.
Many cryptocurrency companies are running into Apple’s tax roadblock and are being rejected or removed from the iOS App Store as they attempt to add features to their mobile applications to provide users with an alternative to browser-only experiences.
In a world that is becoming more digital, such regulations may seem arbitrary. Crypto companies like OpenSea or Coinbase are not permitted to sell digital items without being subject to tax, yet businesses like Amazon are permitted to sell actual things through their applications without being subject to tax. Physical art is not taxed, but digital art (when exchanged as an NFT) is.
Instagram, which recently introduced in-app NFTs, will apply Apple’s 30% tax to every NFT sale, which will make users much less likely to make mobile purchases.
Apple informed Decrypt in response to an earlier request for comment that all applicants for inclusion on its App Store must follow the same rules.
A reference to section 3.1.1 of the App Store rules was also made, which specifies that “Apps may not employ their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as licensing keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, currencies and cryptocurrency wallets, etc.”
Apps are permitted to “use in-app purchases to offer and sell services connected to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as minting, listing, and transferring,” according to Apple’s guidelines, although all of them will be subject to the 30% tax.
