On Tuesday, a headline in The Block blared that “Apple’s crypto policy softens,” pointing to an announcement from fitness app Stepn that users can now trade NFTs directly within the app. Big, if true, as they say.
Alas, the news is not what it seems. While Stepn’s CEO gushed that his app’s new feature is the “biggest thing happening in crypto” and praised Apple to the skies, The Block’s story curiously did not seek comment from the iPhone maker itself. Meanwhile, skeptics like the founder of crypto wallet maker ZenGo threw cold water on the news, pointing out that Stepn had simply introduced a token that could be used to buy NFTs by means of Apple’s in-app purchase regime—the same arrangement long used by Reddit and others.
If you’re unfamiliar, in-app purchases let iPhone users buy anything from video game swag to news subscriptions without leaving the app—but requires the app maker to hand over a whopping 30% of proceeds to Apple. The regime is loathed by publishers, gamemakers, and others who understandably resent handing over this giant cut of their sales to the world’s third-biggest company, but that’s how it is.
The maker of the popular game Fortnite sued Apple over its alleged monopoly, but an appeals court last month ruled 2–1 the company had not violated antitrust laws. Fortnite did obtain a modest victory, though, when the court also ruled that it was illegal for Apple to bar app makers from telling customers in the app they could buy digital items on other platforms—a practice that shows just how tightly Apple controls its platform.
The Stepn story is ultimately non-news and appears to be one of those cases of a CEO ginning up bogus headlines in an effort to give their company a boost during a bear market. But the episode is still valuable in reminding us what an outsize role Apple has in shaping the tech and payments landscape. In an alternate world, the iPhone maker would foster an ecosystem where new innovations—including crypto—could flourish on its platform rather than sticking with the credit card giants. That’s not the world we live in, however, and for now Apple and its 30% tax reign supreme.
Jeff John Roberts
jeff.roberts@fortune.com
@jeffjohnroberts
