Google Play allows NFTs

Google Play changes Blockchain Policy, Opening Doors to Tokenized Digital Assets, NFTs.

The company updated its mobile app store policy to allow app developers to integrate digital assets such as NFT into their games through the Play app store, group product manager Joseph Mills said on Wednesday.

As part of the policy update, Mills stated that apps must be “transparent to users regarding tokenized digital assets” and developers cannot “advertise or glorify any earning potential from a game or trading activity.”

Apps that do not comply with Google Play’s policies regarding real money gambling, games and contests or do not meet the requirements also cannot accept money for chances to win assets, including NFTs. This includes, in particular, mechanisms for obtaining blockchain-based randomized items from the purchase of loot boxes, Mills said.

Such restrictions could potentially prevent newbies in the NFT field from being fooled into thinking that buying these tokenized assets can lead to huge profits, which is often used as a marketing tactic by some projects in the field.

The new change will also allow apps and games on Google Play to reimagine “traditional user-generated content games and increase user loyalty through unique NFT rewards,” Mills said.

The company expects users to begin exploring the app and games later this summer as a select group of developers help test the new policy before it is rolled out to all developers on Google Play later this year.

For example, Reddit, which is popular for its NFT avatars , is partnering with Google to help update and test policies, Matt Williamson, senior engineering manager for the social news site, said in a post.

Going forward, Google Play plans to work with industry partners to further improve support for blockchain-based applications, including other marketplaces.

While Google is updating its policy, one of the other major app stores – Apple – remains unchanged. In general, Apple is taking a cautious stance on the digital asset ecosystem, imposing additional fees on the sale of NFTs, which most NFT creators disagree with.

Apple said in October that apps are allowed to host, mine, transfer, and allow users to view their own NFTs. However, the rules do not allow owners to unlock additional features in the app for them. Also, while apps allow users to view other collections, they cannot show external links, buttons, or calls to action to purchase NFTs. According to the company’s official guidelines, users can only purchase NFTs through Apple’s built-in payments system.

Going forward, Apple could make concessions or make new policy changes to evolve in the blockchain world and match Google’s evolving position, or the company could just say “fuck it” and let Google take over the entire market.