Coinbase’s Wallet iOS application said it no longer supports NFT transactions, due to interference from Apple. 

In a Twitter thread, Coinbase Wallet said Apple had blocked the latest release of its app in an effort to “collect 30% of the gas fee” through in-app purchases.

"For anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is clearly not possible," Coinbase Wallet said, "Apple’s proprietary In-App Purchase system does not support crypto so we couldn’t comply even if we tried. "

The platform claimed Apple wanted Coinbase Wallet to disable NFT transactions, introducing “new policies to protect their profits at the expense of consumer investment in NFTs and developer innovation across the crypto ecosystem.”  

In October, Apple published updates to its App Store Review Guidelines. NFTs are allowed to exist within apps on the App Store—but they can’t unlock additional features or content. “Apps may use in-app purchase to sell and sell services related to non-fungible tokens (NFTs), such as minting, listing, and transferring,” the new guidelines read. “Apps may allow users to view their own NFTs, provided that NFT ownership does not unlock features or functionality within the app.”

Read full Twitter thread from Coinbase Wallet:

You might have noticed you can't send NFTs on Coinbase Wallet iOS anymore. This is because Apple blocked our last app release until we disabled the feature.

Apple’s claim is that the gas fees required to send NFTs need to be paid through their In-App Purchase system, so that they can collect 30% of the gas fee.

For anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is clearly not possible. Apple’s proprietary In-App Purchase system does not support crypto so we couldn’t comply even if we tried.

This is akin to Apple trying to take a cut of fees for every email that gets sent over open Internet protocols.

The biggest impact from this policy change is on iPhone users that own NFTs - if you hold an NFT in a wallet on an iPhone, Apple just made it a lot harder to transfer that NFT to other wallets, or gift it to friends or family.

Simply put, Apple has introduced new policies to protect their profits at the expense of consumer investment in NFTs and developer innovation across the crypto ecosystem.

We hope this is an oversight on Apple’s behalf and an inflection point for further conversations with the ecosystem. @apple - we’re here and want to help