Quick take:
- Meta Platforms is reportedly planning to roll out NFT features on its platforms.
- Facebook and Instagram are said to explore ways that users can make, showcase and sell NFTs on the platforms.
- Meta Platforms is already investing $10 billion to build a metaverse platform.
Meta Platforms is reportedly planning to introduce NFT features on its social media platforms, people familiar with the matter said Thursday Facebook and Instagram were exploring ways to make, showcase and sell NFTs on their platforms.
The quickly developing story comes just weeks after Instagram head Adam Mosseri said the platform was assessing ways to offer NFTs, making them available to a wider audience. The two social networking platforms would join a growing list of top social media brands that have entered or are planning to join the intriguing digital world of non-fungible tokens.
Last month, Parler, a microblogging and short-messaging platform that claims to promote rights to free speech said it was expanding into NFTs, while Twitter is working on ways to showcase blockchain items on its platform. On the other hand, Reddit launched a collection of NFT avatars for users.
And now, citing credible sources, FT said Facebook and Instagram were planning to add features to the platforms that will allow users to display NFTs on their social media profiles. The platforms are also reportedly working on prototypes to enable users to create or mint the collectible tokens.
FT also writes that two of the sources said Meta was planning to launch an NFT platform, allowing people to buy and sell NFTs. However, the sources also revealed that the plans are still at an early stage and that they could still change.
Last October, Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the company’s grand design of the metaverse will also be able to support ownership of digital goods and NFTs. The NFT industry, which a recent report by Chainalysis predicted to be worth $40 billion rocketed last year amid the influx of celebrities.
Since then, different NFT collection projects have continued to gain popularity, led by Crypropucks and Bored Ape yacht Club, the biggest projects by transaction volume.
Earlier this week, news emerged of an Indonesian student who made $1 million from swelling selfie NFTs— think about the potential impact this could have if Instagram and Facebook introduced features that allowed users to create, mint, and showcase NFTs.
Meta’s social media platforms could potentially challenge OpenSea’s market-leading status in the world of NFTs if just a portion of its user-base embraced the shifting trends in the collectibles market. OpenSea was recently valued at $13.5 billion following a $300 million raise.
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