MetaMask wants to ‘dump’ Apple because of high rates of iOS apps

Apple has been asking developers for years for a huge commission of 30% to make apps available in the App Store, but this is increasingly criticized these days. MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay even wants to get rid of Apple’s platform altogether.

Bitcoin exchange Coinbase denounces Apple policy

He writes this on Twitter in response to the news that the Coinbase Wallet app on iOS is having some problems due to Apple. The app allows you to send NFTs to and from the wallet on your iOS device, but the network (e.g. Ethereum) charges gas fees for this. Apple suggests that these commissions fall under in-app purchases. The company wants to see this immediately in the App Store, because it also charges 30% of purchases for this.

But Coinbase and many other companies are anything but happy about this. Apps are often not cheap to make, and they don’t always pay off. The gas fees in Coinbase’s app are simply network costs that it cannot recoup.

However, the crypto exchange seems to stand behind its position and not pay the commissions. That’s why Apple has blocked the latest update until the feature is disabled. Coinbase also laconically accuses Apple of not being able to pay the commissions at all because they are denominated in ETH.

MetaMask is on Coinbase’s side

MetaMask co-founder Dan Finlay calls the ‘Apple tax’ monopolistic, the platform would be ready to abandon Apple altogether. “I stand in solidarity with Coinbase. I assume that [MetaMask] and every other wallet are next,” he tweeted. He also sees that Apple’s policy is in fact a form of censorship. Ironically, he previously worked on the App Store at Apple.

Presumably all this means that if Apple doesn’t end this policy soon, iOS device owners will have to look elsewhere. Epic Games and Polygon Studios, among others, have already turned against Apple’s policy.