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- Apple now permits external links for NFT purchases and secondary marketplaces, while still prohibiting crypto mining and token-based rewards within apps.
- This challenges Apple’s control over in-app purchases and could lead to more competitive practices in the app marketplace.
Apple has made changes to its App Store policies surrounding cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs), following a ruling from the U.S. District Court in the Epic Games antitrust case. The court fight began in August 2020 when Epic Games, the company behind Fortnite, filed a lawsuit against Apple. Epic challenged the App Store’s rules, calling them anti-competitive.
At the heart of the lawsuit was Apple’s requirement that all in-app purchases go through its own payment system, from which it took a 30% cut. Things escalated when Epic introduced a direct payment option within the Fortnite app, which Apple swiftly removed from the App Store for violating its policies.
In April 2025, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled that Apple had willfully violated a previous injunction from 2021. She ruled that Apple still made it difficult for developers to use alternative payment systems, despite being instructed not to.
The judge called out Apple for continuing to create obstacles that stifled competition and referred the case to federal prosecutors to consider possible criminal contempt. Apple is not allowed to charge commissions on transactions outside its ecosystem and will have to accept payment links from outside its apps.
What Developers Can Do Now
Following the court’s mandate, Apple has updated its guidelines to give developers more flexibility regarding NFTs. Under the revised rules, apps can now use in-app purchases for NFT-related services such as minting, listing, and transferring. Users are also allowed to view their own NFTs within apps, and developers can display NFT collections owned by others.
Most notably, apps listed in the U.S. App Store can now offer external links or buttons directing users to off-platform websites to complete NFT buys, a noteworthy reversal of the company’s earlier stance.
Apps like Magic Eden and Coinbase Wallet can now directly sell NFTs without the requirement for backdoor bypasses. In fact, Magic Eden already cut core functionality out of its iOS app to avoid Apple’s cap, but those days are now behind us.
Nevertheless, Apple has strict limitations. Apps are not allowed to engage in cryptocurrency mining, offer token-based rewards, or accept cryptocurrency as a payment method directly within the app. Therefore, while off-platform links for NFT purchases are now allowed, payments in-app still have to go through Apple’s system unless made off-platform.
It should be noted that this change is limited to the U.S. App Store and Apple is still moving forward with an appeal of the court’s order. In any event, this action is a significant departure from the way Apple treats digital assets and is potentially a stepping stone towards more innovation and openness across its developer base.
