Key Takeaways
- Reports suggest that Instagram won’t be charging users for posting/sharing NFTs.
- Instagram will likely be supporting popular crypto wallets like MetaMask on its platform.
- Earlier this year, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had hinted that NFTs would soon be coming to Instagram.
- The pilot program might feature a group of NFT aficionados based in the US.
The social media giant Instagram owned by Meta is planning non-fungible token (NFT) integrations for Ethereum, Polygon, Solana, and Flow, CoinDesk reported. These networks host the major chunk of trading in digital collectibles, with Ethereum and its Bored Apes leading the way by market cap.
The soon-to-be-announced pilot will feature a small group of NFT aficionados based in the United States. Reports suggest that Instagram is planning to support widely used crypto wallets such as MetaMask. Plugging in their wallets, users will be able to prove their NFT ownership, showcase them on their Instagram profiles, and tag the creators who made them.
However, clarity needs to be sought on whether NFTs from all four chains would be supported in the launch.Instagram will not be charging users for posting and sharing NFTs, Coindesk had reported. Another social media giant Twitter initially charged users for using its hexagonal NFT profile pictures in January this year.
In December, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri claimed that the social media network was “actively exploring NFTs” but refused to share any additional plans for the service. In January, the Financial Times reported that the social media giant had started internally testing its NFT showcasing feature. Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg had said in March this year that NFTs would be coming to Instagram, confirming an earlier report by the Financial Times. At the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, Mark told Daymon John of Shark Tank that Meta is “working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term.”
This decision by the social media powerhouse like Meta would pave the way for the new cultural visibility for NFTs. The company’s decision to rebrand from Facebook to Meta in 2021 has also led to increased corporate interest in the metaverse. Instagram has more than a billion monthly active users, and by rolling out this feature, Meta will be exposing millions of people to the world of digital collectibles.
