"Apple Had a Problem With Crypto From Day One," Says Former App Store Director
Phillip Shoemaker, Apple App Store's former head, recently revealed how the firm has always had a negative view of crypto and how it has affected Web3 projects looking to launch on iOS.
Crypto is seen as a Ponzi scheme in Apple, according to ex-App Store chief
Everybody knows that getting a mobile app listed on the Apple App Store is no easy feat. However, this is particularly cumbersome for crypto companies and NFT projects. That's not by accident, according to Phillip Shoemaker - App Store's former director.
In a recent interview with Decrypt, Shoemaker explained that Apple had rewritten the App Store guidelines in a way that he believes is intentionally vague. This has allowed the iPhone maker to not only function as a "gatekeeper" but also maintain its absolute stance against crypto and NFTs.
"Apple had a problem with crypto from day one. They thought it was a Ponzi scheme," Shoemaker said during the interview. After he left Apple in 2016, the App Store guidelines were rewritten by longtime Apple Fellow Phil Schiller, who is now in charge of App Store. The company "ended up making things even more vague," according to Shoemaker.
How does Apple's seemingly anti-crypto stance affect GameFi and NFT projects?
In October 2022, the Cupertino-based tech firm provoked widespread ire from Web3 creators after publishing several changes to their App Store review guidelines.
Developers can now implement crypto and NFTs in their GameFi projects. However, secondary NFT sales must be disabled, and all purchases must be made in-app, subject to a 30% fee. Apps that feature blockchain technology may not use their own mechanisms to unlock content or functionality, such as license keys, augmented reality markers, QR codes, cryptocurrencies, and Web3 wallets. These restrictions are very disadvantageous to the present NFT and GameFi apps.
Given its adversarial relationship with crypto, Apple will likely keep pushing for fees related to NFT and crypto transactions made on its platform. What's going to happen, according to crypto researchers, is that Apple's crypto stance would probably push users gradually to Android or other Web3-friendly devices. Blockchain game developers may also come up with different workarounds, such as building on top of existing SDKs that have been proven to solve the compliance issue.
While Apple might succeed in maintaining its monopoly, the company may soon have to rethink its stance on how it will work with emerging technologies. After all, Web3 is about giving power back to the people instead of keeping everything in a walled garden.
