Apple’s Crypto App Ban Cracks: The Walled Garden Gets Stormed

For years, Apple’s iron grip on its App Store left crypto developers fuming—now regulators are swinging the hammer. The tech giant can no longer arbitrarily block decentralized finance (DeFi) apps, marking a seismic shift for iOS users and the crypto ecosystem.

The Backstory: How Apple Played Gatekeeper

From wallet bans to NFT restrictions, Apple’s 30% tax and opaque approval process strangled innovation. Crypto apps either bent the knee with crippled functionality or got booted—until now.

The New Rules: What Just Changed?

Global pressure from EU’s DMA to US lawsuits forced Apple’s hand. Third-party app stores and sideloading are coming to iOS, letting crypto apps bypass Apple’s notorious ’walled garden.’ Expect wallets with full functionality and DeFi platforms that don’t hemorrhage fees to Cupertino.

The Catch?

Apple will still try to monetize—just ask any banker who’s seen their ’disruptive’ fintech get co-opted into a premium subscription service. But for crypto, this cracks open the dam. The floodgates won’t open overnight, but the era of Apple’s absolute control? That’s already history.

In brief

• Apple must allow external payments without commission or restrictions for crypto apps.
• Developers can now freely integrate links to NFTs or third-party payment systems.
• This decision opens a new era for Web3 games and decentralized applications on mobile.

Apple bends under judicial pressure: a boon for crypto apps

A thunderclap in tech: Apple is now forced to allow crypto application developers to redirect users to external payment systems, without restrictions or commissions. A decision that comes a few months after Coinbase integrated Apple Pay as a payment method for cryptocurrencies.

Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers ruled on April 30, 2025, that Apple had “deliberately violated” a 2021 injunction aimed at curbing its anti-competitive practices, notably in the case opposing it to Epic Games. Result: the Cupertino firm must change its rules “immediately“, without possibility of negotiation.

Towards the end of Apple’s monopoly?

Specifically, Apple will no longer be able to impose a commission on purchases made outside its App Store. It will also not be able to audit or control transactions made outside its applications, nor forbid certain categories of apps – such as crypto wallets or Web3 games – from using external links.

Although the tone adopted by Apple in its updated guidelines is “passive-aggressive“, the changes are real. Applications can now integrate links to NFT collections or third-party payment systems, without requiring Apple’s validation.

A major victory for the mobile ecosystem

For the crypto community, this “hugely bullish” progress represents a major opportunity for mobile Web3 games and apps. Epic Games even says it is ready to relaunch Fortnite on the App Store if Apple extends this framework internationally. With this decision, crypto gains ground on mobile platforms and purchases of your favorite cryptocurrencies (bitcoin and ethereum) will now be made without constraints!

This decision thus marks a turning point for the crypto ecosystem: developers regain control, users gain freedom, and Apple loses its monopoly. A new era opens for Web3 apps, where innovation and decentralization will no longer be hindered by arbitrary barriers. The mobile crypto revolution is launched.

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