Epic Games CEO claims that the new ruling "frees iOS developers."
A California court has declared Apple's ban on alternative in-app payment methods a violation of state competition laws, which could potentially benefit cryptocurrency and non-fungible token (NFT) projects looking to expand their iOS app functionality.
The ruling, which took place on April 24th, was handed down by the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the Apple versus Epic Games case. The latter company is the creator of the widely popular video game Fortnite.
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The court's decision supported a lower court's verdict from 2021, asserting that Apple's anti-steering provision negatively impacted Epic Games.
Apple's anti-steering provision dictates that iOS developers cannot promote out-of-app payment methods through means like in-app links. According to the court ruling, the policy led to increased costs for Epic's subsidiary apps available on Apple's App Store and pushed away other app users from becoming potential Epic Games customers.
On April 24th, Tim Sweeney, the founder and CEO of Epic Games, tweeted that the ruling "frees iOS developers" by enabling them to guide consumers toward alternative payment options.
The court determined that, if not for Apple's policy, Epic Games would have generated additional revenue by applying the competitor-suit "tethering test" and the consumer-suit "balancing test," ultimately deeming the anti-steering provision "unfair."
The court also considered a second perspective on Apple's anti-steering violation, concluding that consumers would have gravitated toward Epic Games directly had they known about its significantly lower 12% commission rate.
If consumers can learn about lower app prices, which are made possible by developers' lower costs, and have the ability to substitute to the platform with those lower prices, they will do so — increasing the revenue that the Epic Games Store generates.
Assuming that Apple chooses not to appeal the ruling, this development could benefit crypto and NFT app creators, as they would no longer be subject to Apple's 30% "tax."
In other related news, decentralized crypto exchange (DEX) Uniswap has finally made its way "out of Apple jail" and launched its wallet for iOS users in select countries.
