UPD: Apple to Allow Third-party App Stores in Compliance with New EU Laws

Crypto app developers can rejoice now as the new EU laws will force Apple to permit alternative app stores and apps without the need to go through its own App Store.

Alex Harutunian

Dec 21, 2022 - 1 min read

We recently wrote that Apple blocked the latest Coinbase wallet app release as it wanted to collect 30% of the gas fees through in-app purchases, something that was not possible according to Coinbase. Now with the new anti-monopolistic requirements from the EU, European users will be able to download alternative app marketplaces outside of Apple’s proprietary App Store, allowing them to download apps that bypass the 30% commissions and app restrictions.

At the moment, Apple has strict rules for NFT apps: users are forced to go through in-app purchases subject to 30% commission, and apps are not allowed to support cryptocurrency payments. Apple is opening up its ecosystem in response to the EU’s Digital Markets Act aiming to regulate “gatekeepers” and ensure platforms behave fairly with part of the measures allowing “third parties to inter-operate with the gatekeeper’s own services.” The new laws come into force starting May 2023, and companies will need to fully comply by 2024.

If Apple complies with the part of the Act that allows developers to install alternative payment systems within apps that don’t involve Apple, users could pay in cryptocurrencies. Way to go, Apple, we continue to observe.