According to a recent Twitter thread by Stephane Kasriel, Meta’s commerce and fintech lead, Meta has decided to scale back its involvement with NFTs on Facebook and Instagram. This means that Meta will no longer be testing the creation and sale of NFTs on Instagram, and users will no longer be able to share NFTs on Instagram and Facebook soon. Joshua Gunter, the spokesperson of Meta, has confirmed this decision.
Kasriel said,
“Across the company, we’re looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. Instead, the company is focusing on areas where we can make an impact at scale, like messaging and monetization on Reels and on improving Meta Pay.”
CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s push for increased efficiency in 2023 seems to have led to the decision to discontinue NFT integrations and the Reels Play bonus program. This move follows the shutdowns of Meta’s Diem cryptocurrency and Novi digital wallet in the previous year.
Despite Meta’s exit from the NFT market, other companies are jumping in, despite a collapse in value in 2022 following a wave of hype in early 2021. Reddit continues to promote their “digital collectible” avatars, which are NFTs, while Starbucks recently sold out 2,000 $100 NFTs as part of its Odyssey customer loyalty program. Even Sesame Street has announced an upcoming NFT collaboration.
What is NFT and How Does It work?
NFT is short for “non-fungible token.” When something is non-fungible, it means that it’s unique and irreplaceable. Unlike physical money or cryptocurrencies, which are fungible and interchangeable, each NFT has a digital signature that sets it apart from the rest. NFTs can take many digital forms, including photos, videos, audio files, etc. Some examples of NFTs include artwork, comic books, sports collectibles, trading cards, and even games.
NFTs are cryptographic assets that exist on a blockchain, which is a public ledger that records transactions. Each NFT has a unique identification code that distinguishes it from others, making it easy to transfer between owners and verify ownership.
The value of NFTs is determined by market supply and demand, and they can be bought and sold just like physical assets. In fact, NFTs can represent real-world tangible assets like artwork and real estate. Some see tokenizing these assets in a digital form as a more efficient way to buy, sell, and trade them, potentially reducing the risk of fraud.
Meta removes NFT feature from Instagram and Facebook:
Are NFTs dead?
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— wale.swoosh (@waleswoosh) March 14, 2023
