Coinbase Claims Apple Blocks Wallet App Release Over Gas Fees

Coinbase’s self-custody crypto wallet says interference from Apple has prevented users from sending non-fungible tokens (NFTs).

In a December 1st Twitter thread, Coinbase Wallet Said A tech company with a market capitalization of over $2 trillion blocked the latest release of its app in order to “collect 30% of gas bills” through in-app purchases. The platform wants Apple to void his NFT transactions on Coinbase Wallet, stating that it is “in order to protect profits at the expense of consumer investment in NFTs and developer innovation across the crypto ecosystem.” He claimed that he wanted to introduce a “new policy.”

“For anyone who understands how NFTs and blockchains work, this is clearly not possible,” said Coinbase Wallet. “Apple’s own in-app purchase system doesn’t support encryption, so it didn’t work. It’s like what you’re trying to do.”

You may have noticed that you can no longer send NFTs on Coinbase Wallet iOS. This is because Apple blocked the previous release of the app until this feature was disabled.

— Coinbase Wallet (@CoinbaseWallet) December 1, 2022

The wallet app says users affected by this decision, i.e. those with iPhones, will find it “very difficult to transfer that NFT to other wallets.” Coinbase added that the block may have been an oversight and asked Apple to contact the company about the issue.

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Coinbase first announced that it will add support for NFTs to its self-custody wallet in December 2021, allowing users to access marketplaces like OpenSea via the app. On November 29th, the app announced that it would stop supporting Bitcoin Cash (BCH), XRP (XRP), Ethereum Classic (ETC) and Stellar Lumens (XLM).