In a Facebook announcement led by Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg on Monday, May 9, 2022, he announced that non-fungible tokens (NFTs) will be available on Instagram. He confirmed over a Facebook stream that the social media site will be testing NFT integrations the week of the announcement.
‘We’re starting building for NFTs not just in our metaverse and Reality Labs work, but also across our family of apps,’ Zuckerberg said on the video stream.
‘We’re going to bring similar functionality to Facebook soon,’ he added.
According to a report by CoinDesk, the social media site owned by Meta is planning to integrate NFTs from Ethereum, Polygon, Solana and Flow blockchains.
However, it’s not yet clear whether the launch will support all NFTs from the four chains on its launch or if it’ll initially integrate with Ethereum-based NFTs first before moving on to the other platforms later.
Aside from this, the platform will also focus on a select group of NFT enthusiasts based in the US for the launch. Instagram won’t be charging users to display their NFTs but will be required to connect their wallets to the platform as proof of ownership.
Instagram Head Adam Mosseri also posted a video on his official Twitter account to announce the update.
‘We want to make sure that we work out how to embrace those tenets of distributed trust and power, even though we are, yes, a centralized platform,’ Mosseri said in his video announcement.
Zuckerberg has already hinted at plans of integrating NFTS on Instagram two months before the announcements during a conference in Austin, Texas in an interview with Shark Tank’s Daymond John.
In a report by Beincrypto, it’s said that the integration is expected to increase the adoption of NFTs since it’ll further boost the number of people who will have access to the assets.
Three-dimensional augmented reality NFTs are also set to launch on Instagram. This is said to be made through the Spark AR software which will be compatible with Instagram stories.
Meta, the parent company of both Instagram and Facebook, is also said to follow up the NFT pilot on Instagram with a minting and group membership options on Facebook, as reported by the Financial Times.
Other technology apps had embraced crypto and NFTs before Instagram did. These include Twitter, Youtube and Reddit with their creator-driven space that allows users to explore the features of crypto on their platforms.
Know more about Instagram’s NFT integration alongside other cryptocurrency news here at Cryptoshimbun!