TL;DR
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Apple has previously blocked Web3 apps from accepting crypto payments, because Apple Pay doesn’t play nice with blockchain – which means Apple can’t take its 30% cut.
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The good news is: there’s a way for Web3 apps to accept payments on the iPhone.
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The bad news is: the experience is clunky and expensive. Users buy ‘Spark’ tokens (non-crypto tokens, similar to Fortnite’s ‘V-Bucks‘) → use their Spark tokens to buy NFTs in-app.
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All while Spark purchases are 30% more expensive (in USD equivalent), compared to crypto purchases. Either way, it’s a net positive for Web3!
Full Story
Alrighty, we have some good news and some bad news…
The good news is: there’s a way for Web3 apps to accept payments on the iPhone.
Apple had previously blocked Web3 apps from accepting crypto payments, because Apple Pay doesn’t play nice with blockchain – which means Apple can’t take its 30% cut of revenue.
The bad news is: the experience is clunky and expensive.
That last bit makes sense – if Apple is going add a 30% surcharge to app creators, that cost is most likely going to be passed along to users.
The clunkiness of it all culminates in the currency exchange process…
It works like this:
Users add a credit card to their account → buy ‘Spark’ tokens (which are non-crypto tokens, similar to Fortnite’s ‘V-Bucks‘) → use their Spark tokens to buy NFTs in-app.
All while Spark purchases are 30% more expensive (in USD equivalent), compared to crypto purchases.
So, Web3 apps can now monetize on the iPhone (hoooray!), but it’s going to be a messy user experience until Apple Pay accepts crypto payments natively – if that ever happens (boooo!).
Either way, it’s a net positive for Web3!
