It seems that Apple feels the direction of the proverbial wind in the financial market with many companies like Nike, Gucci, Disney, Starbucks, and other platforms issuing their NFTs and building exciting products. The decision of the smartphone manufacturer to move into this domain with their marketplace would have been welcomed by everyone in the community if not for the greediness of the corporation that wants a 30% cut on all NFT sales.
The comparison does not work in Apple’s favor
All in-app purchases are subjected to the same 30% commission, but it is something that developers can work around. These commissions do not define relationships between individual sellers and buyers, but a relationship between users and product makers that can be arbitrary and do not follow some principles of free trade. NFT trading? Well, it is a completely different story.
The average commission that you will have to pay as a seller when listing your item on a marketplace is 2.5% which is more than fair. Many traders would gladly pay a higher commission like 5% if there was an improvement in service and access to a wider audience of potential buyers. Apple does provide access to an audience of over a billion iPhone and iPad users across the globe, but it is not likely that increased convenience and an expansion of the market are worth 30%.
Some experts in the crypto industry are saying that such high commissions will be a crushing blow to a still-emerging technology that could compete against Apple’s ecosystem and in-app payments. Instead of embracing the change, Apple seems to be fighting it.
The future of the NFT industry
Just a couple of months ago, many people believed that NFTs are done with trading volume plummeting by 99% in May. However, the issuance of Reddit NFT avatars and the arrival of new big players to the industry, namely Nike and Starbucks, reinvigorated the community and allowed many people to make some money trading NFTs. Apple and Samsung will have to join this industry, but customers must understand the ramifications of trading something on platforms that artificially create a 30% markup.