Facebook and Instagram to wind down on NFT support. The reported move is coming less than a year after the firm delved into the market in search of digital markets.
Facebook and Instagram to Wind Down On NFT Support
The parent company of Facebook and Instagram, Meta, is planning to end its support for NFTs on both platforms just less than a year it jumped on the digital asset bandwagon. The said move was announced by Meta commerce and Fintech lead Stephane Kasriel on Monday.
“Across the company, we’re looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus,” Stephane in a tweet wrote. “We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses.”
What Is an NFT?
An NFT, popularly known as a nonfungible token, is a blockchain-based technology that is used to determine ownership of unique digital or physical items such as art, music, or even a tweet. NFTs started to pop up everywhere back in 2021, with some NFTs at the time going for hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars.
NFTs as you should know can be a part of a collection or standalone pieces of art. It can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars to purchase a single piece of NFT from popular collections such as Bored Ape Yacht Club and CryptoPunks, while sales for rarer NFTs on the other hand can end up in the millions.
NFTs and Its Early Support from Investors of Crypto
NFTs got early support from investors of crypto, and in the process became a status symbol for celebrities and the crypto rich. But the interest for them has waned down in recent months as the cryptocurrency sector has taken a beating.
Instagram started testing NFTs just last May, thus allowing a handful of US-based artists and collectors to share NFTs on the social media platform. And in August, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that Instagram would expand its support for NFTs to over 100 countries.
Meta Still Plans To Work On Integrating Technology Offerings with the Financial Industry
And although Meta is pausing its focus on NFTs, the firm still plans to work on integrating technology offerings with the financial industry.
“We’ll continue investing in fintech tools that people and businesses will need for the future. We’re streamlining payments w/ Meta Pay, making checkout and payouts easier, and investing in messaging payments across Meta,” Kasriel stated.
