Coinbase and Apple

Fees for crypto transfers 

Coinbase removes NFT transfers from iOS app following dispute with Apple

By Duncan Riley in SiliconAngle

Coinbase Inc. is the latest company to have issues with Apple and its App Store policies, claiming that it has been forced to remove nonfungible token transfers from its iOS wallet because Apple wants a cut of the transfer fees.

Nonfungible tokens, better known as NFTs, rose to popularity in late 2020. Although interest in them has dropped precipitously, there is still an active market for buying and selling them. Most NFTs reside on the Ethereum blockchain and transfers on the blockchain require “gas,” a transaction fee, to make a transfer. It’s a fee that all users may pay to perform any function on the Ethereum blockchain.

Apple, for unclear reasons, now thinks it’s entitled to a 30% cut of the gas fee of any NFTs transferred using Coinbase. The case is unlike other disputes with Apple wherein developers, most notably Epic Games Ltd., argue that Apple’s 30% cut is unfair. At least when buying items in “Fortnite,” Apple is taking a cut out of Epic Games’ profits. There’s nothing to take from Coinbase because it’s not a fee it receives, keeps or profits from.

“For anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is clearly not possible,” Coinbase wrote in a tweet. “Apple’s proprietary In-App Purchase system does not support crypto, so we couldn’t comply even if we tried.”  .... '