Quick take:
- Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg says Instagram will offer non-fungible tokens.
- The platform will allow users to mint NFTs as well as bring minted NFTs from other platforms within the next several months.
- Instagram head Adam Mosseri had hinted earlier this year that the platform was looking into NFTs.
Mark Zuckerberg has finally confirmed non-fungible tokens (NFTs) are coming to Instagram. Appearing at this year’s SXSW conference, the Meta Platforms CEO said the platform will begin offering NFTs within the next several months. Zuckerberg said users will be able to mint NFTs, as well as, transfer from other marketplaces.
Instagram head Adam Mosseri had hinted earlier this year that the social networking platform was looking into non-fungible tokens. But now, those rumours have been confirmed by the head of Instagram’s parent.
Zuckerberg told SXSW that “long-term, I would hope that the clothing that your avatar is wearing in the metaverse can be minted as an NFT.”
Zuckerberg said initially, the photo and short video sharing platform will initially allow users to bring NFTs from other platforms before rolling out minting tools in the coming months.
Zuckerberg has been a leading figure in the blockchain space, first launching the failed Facebook cryptocurrency Libra.
But more recently, the social media giant rebranded to Meta, indicating a change in direction the company was taking for its long-term future.
Although investors reacted negatively to the move, the market seems to have overwhelmingly embraced the metaverse concept judging by the number of trademark applications being filed on a daily basis.
In a report published last month, trademark tracking firms estimated that companies were filing up to 15 trademarks per day amid the metaverse craze.
Meta, which owns a metaverse platform called Horizon Worlds also launched 3D avatars for Instagram and Facebook stories extending its grip on the trendy buzzword.
Instagram joins other social media platforms that have already rolled out various NFT features. Twitter has already announced a profile verification feature for NFT profile pictures. The service, called Twitter Blue allows users to turn NFTs into their profile pictures.
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