Apple are coming for NFTs, crypto exchanges and Zuck's ad revenue (!)
When it comes to in-app payments, Apple has the intensity of a back alley loan shark.
They'll straight up knee-cap folks, in order to get their money.
Their current targets:
NFTs
Crypto exchanges
and Mark Zuckerberg
Here's how iOS 16's new terms & conditions affect each of the above:
NFTs can no longer be used to unlock features or content within an app.
(If Apple can't collect 30% of the sale, it ain't happening).
We can understand how this would be applied in the case of say, Step'n, where the purchase of an NFT unlocks the walk-to-earn function...
But what about something like Discord - where folks are buying their NFTs from completely separate platforms, and using them to access private communities?
Crypto exchanges got off relatively lightly, in that they won't have to share any revenue with Apple - but will face harsher oversight from Apple.
Exchanges will need to show “appropriate licensing and permissions to provide a cryptocurrency exchange,” in all regions that they operate in.
(Sure, it's more red tape, but not the worst thing from a consumer standpoint).
And Zuck? Ooft. Marky-Mark copped it from every angle.
Not only are Apple throttling the potential functionality of NFTs (which Meta have just added to Instagram) but they're now coming for a chunk of their ad revenue!
Requiring any in-app paid social media boosting to be split 30/70 between the host platform and Apple.
...and the buck (accidental pun, leaving it in) doesn't stop with Meta:
TikTok, Tumblr, Hinge, Tinder, Bumble, Depop, Etsy, Poshmark - they all feature boost functionality.
So what's the takeaway?
This is another big incentive for the tech world to start shifting towards decentralized systems.
Systems where a single entity can't cut the legs out from an emerging technology, or syphon 30% of revenue from a business (even if it's Meta), with a simple 'terms & conditions' update.
