11/2/2022

Apple draws controversy admidst new rules for NFT trading

By: Rahul Patel

Apple stirred up controversy on Monday with the release of several new rules aimed at NFT trading apps. Though usually tolerant of such activity on their various platforms, the firm unveiled new rules prohibiting apps such as OpenSea and Binance from using third-party mechanisms for their sales. As a result, the apps are now forced to use Apple’s in-pay system which means that the firm will be taking 30% of the sale. Apple has faced mounting criticism for anti-competition behavior. Non-Fungible tokens (NFTs) are cryptographic assets. They are located on blockchains and contain unique codes that work to distinguish from each other. These codes are important because NFTs live up to their title by being irreplaceable. They are not cryptocurrency but rather can be likened more to physical assets. In fact, much of the market value is centered around digital representations of artwork and baseball cards. They contrast drastically with fungible tokens like bitcoin who have similar signatures, meta data, and can be replaceable. It is these tokens that Apple seeks to take a portion of everytime one is traded. Apple has been slammed by the cryptocurrency market as well as trading apps. Much of these services use third-party companies and Apple is introducing new measures attempting to put them out of business.