"Give Me Half" Meta Throws Commission Bomb at Virtual Asset Creators

by Jeong Hyunjin

Published 14 Apr.2022 14:31(KST)

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] Meta Platforms, the parent company of Facebook, has announced plans to take nearly half of the virtual asset transactions occurring on its platform as fees. This rate far exceeds Apple's 30% in-app payment commission, sparking fierce criticism.

On the 13th (local time), according to CNBC and other outlets, Meta revealed that it is considering charging a 47.5% fee on virtual asset sales, including non-fungible tokens (NFTs), conducted through its metaverse platform, Horizon Worlds.

Considering that virtual asset transactions use the Meta Quest Store, Meta plans to deduct a 30% hardware platform fee and then charge an additional 17.5% fee within Horizon Worlds. In comparison, other NFT marketplaces such as OpenSea apply a 2.5% fee, and LooksRare charges 2%.

Meta's high fee rate has drawn widespread criticism. While global authorities are pushing to eliminate Apple's 30% in-app payment fee, setting a much higher commission rate has been met with disbelief.

Notably, Mark Zuckerberg, Meta's CEO, pointed out last November that "Apple's 30% in-app payment fee reduces creators' opportunities to earn money from their work," suggesting that the controversy over this nearly half-rate fee is likely to continue.