Google has updated its terms for the Android Play Store. It does this by opening the door of a kind of application that has been banned on the mobile platform until now. As explained in a statement, the Android store will allow hosting of blockchain-based apps that can offer items such as NFTs or tokenized digital assets.

It’s a delicate relationship. Blockchain’s relationship with mobile app stores has always been deceptive. We are talking about the end of a unique payment system with enormous possibilities. Some payment methods that allow you to get rid of the systems implemented by Google or Apple. While these two giants are opening their doors to accept third-party payments, they are also changing their philosophy regarding blockchain.

They will continue to be checked but are now accepted. Among the possibilities of these applications we obtain from Web3 games, digital art sales, decentralized voting systems or applications that leverage blockchain. It’s a market that still has a long way to go, as they haven’t made it to the top of the list via Google Play or the App Store so far.

There will be no open bar. Joseph Mills, head of product at Google, explains that apps must be “transparent about token usage” and that developers will not be allowed to “promote potential gains from gaming or trading.”

In other words, coins can be used but not if they are part of an excuse to turn this app into a bookmaker. Blockchain technology is useful in many ways, but unfortunately, most of the examples we have so far have come up with the most dangerous part.

“There is no gift. Applications that have a tangential relationship to the bet or lottery will not be accepted. It will be necessary to see what scale Google sets up in accepting these, but many will be thrown back predictably, even though the door has been opened. Those who randomly distribute ‘loot boxes’, an element that countries like Spain want to regulate, will also not be accepted.

It starts this summer. Initially, it will be this summer when the first blockchain apps will arrive on Google Play. A small group of developers has been selected for this. Later this year, this option will be expanded to more.

With the help of Reddit. One of the most successful companies in implementing NFTs has been Reddit with their avatars. They collaborated with Reddit developers like Google’s Matt Williamson for this change.

At Apple, they remain silent. Otherwise it’s Apple’s. The last we know is from last September. The App Store accepts NFTs, but they cannot be traded in iOS apps. In addition, they cannot be linked to external collections, which greatly limits the possibilities of creating an open ecosystem. We’ll have to see if these changes to the Android store cause them to reconsider their position.

Image | morthy jameson

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