Yesterday, the Commerce and FinTech Lead at Meta, Stephane Kasriel, revealed that all non-fungible token (NFT) features on Instagram and Facebook are being disabled. This sudden announcement has caught many creators off guard, who recently gained access to the NFT features for promotional purposes.
Quick Takes:
- Instagram and Facebook introduced NFTs to US citizens in September 2022 to promote a “fair creator economy”.
- However, the social media hubs are disabling all NFT features. This has left creators surprised and uncertain about the future of their digital assets.
- Meta’s abrupt decision to discontinue NFT features on Instagram and Facebook raises questions about the progress of Meta’s metaverse plans.
Instagram and Facebook NFTs: From Start to Finish
Instagram began conducting tests for integrating NFTs into the platform in May 2022. Such tests included collaborating with a select group of creators and allowing them to display their NFTs on their Instagram profiles for the first time.
Following initial success, Instagram expanded the scope of its NFT features. The NFT platform soon allowed creators to sell their NFTs directly on the platform. Reason being: to create a more equitable creator economy.
Consequently, the social media platform introduced its own NFT marketplace four months ago. The main aim of this platform was to provide an accessible and streamlined way for creators to sell their digital assets and reach a larger target market out of Web3.
On the other hand, Facebook began testing NFTs with select creators in the United States in June 2022. As a result, Instagram users could cross-post their NFTs to Facebook by September, connecting wallets from Coinbase, Dapper Labs, MetaMask, Rainbow, and Trust.
Nevertheless, the NFT features for both Instagram and Facebook didn’t latch on as Meta had hoped.
Meta Disables All NFT Features – What Now?
Yesterday, Kasriel announced that Instagram and Facebook are discontinuing all NFT features.
The Commerce and FinTech Lead at Meta took to Twitter to share the news:
It is surprising that both social media hubs have abruptly stopped NFT features. As a result, many creators are asking for clarification about the future of their work. Unfortunately, they are yet to receive answers.
Instead, Kasriel discusses how Meta’s primary focus is “on areas where we can make an impact at scale, such as messaging and monetization opps for Reels.”
According to him, rather, Meta will “continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout & payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta”.
Meta’s big metaverse plans also never got a mention, giving the impression that progress in this area could go smoother than anticipated.
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