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Instagram to become the world’s largest NFT marketplace. Zuckerberg advanced the news at the South by Southwest (SXSW) conference in Austin (Texas). Meta, focused on building the Metaverse, announced plans to bring NFTs to its social platforms in January. The company reported that Instagram and Facebook would allow its users to trade NFT digital assets.
Instagram, NFTs, and virtual wearables
Currently, the Facebook creator has declined to disclose details of how developers will integrate these digital assets into Instagram, as there are still many unresolved technical issues. Platformer author Casey Newton gave an account of part of Zuckerberg’s statements at SXSW. “Mark Zuckerberg just said that ‘hopefully’ in the next few months you’ll be able to mint NFT within Instagram,” Newton said. The statements suggest that the social network for uploading and posting images and videos could become a platform for NFT, allowing its users to mint, store, display, and trade non-fungible tokens (NFT).
Meanwhile, Financial Times journalist Hannah Murphy noted that Zuckerberg hopes to mint NFTs, digital avatar wearables, on her Twitter feed.
Zuckerberg at #SXSW
— Hannah Murphy (@MsHannahMurphy) March 15, 2022
– says that he hopes avatar clothing in the metaverse will be minted as NFTs
– there’s “a bunch of technical things” to be worked out first
– they’re working on bringing NFT’s to Instagram “in the near term” (confirms our earlier scoop)https://t.co/ZX6PVjw4O8
Social media’s bet on NFTs
NFTs are opening doors to new possibilities for content creators. More and more social platforms are looking to integrate them. Through NFTs, artists and creators can offer exclusive content to their fans, allowing them new forms of monetization and a closer and more direct connection with their audience.
Other social networks, such as YouTube, owned by Google, Twitter, and Tik Tok, integrate NFTs into their platforms to empower creators. Twitter already allows its users to authenticate NFTs to display them on the network as profile pictures. YouTube and Tik Tok are rushing to implement NFTs as digital tools. They aim to provide creators with a new way to showcase and reward their work.
Meta, a Metaverse without limits
At the end of September 2021, Meta announced a 5-year $50 million investment to build its Metaverse. The company has created the XR Research and Programs Fund to explore the virtual world’s opportunities, benefits, and implications. It also claims to collaborate responsibly with global legislators and regulators to experiment with new technologies. Somehow, Zuckerberg doesn’t want to repeat what happened with Diem (formerly Libra). It was a Meta-backed stablecoin project he had to sell at the end of January due to regulatory pressure to Silvergate bank.
As for its Metaverse, Meta reported that it would be an inclusive space that will redefine how we interact, work, and connect. Its Metaverse will allow users to share and hang out with friends, work, play, exercise, study, learn, shop, create new digital businesses, and more.
Immersive experiences
The company wants to evolve from the 2D experience to new immersive experiences like virtual and augmented reality. It announced its name change from Facebook to Meta in October last year to reflect its new focus.
Meta keeps under its umbrella the world’s most important social networks and applications: Facebook, Instagram, Messenger, and WhatsApp. The latter integrated Meta’s digital wallet, Novi, to enable cryptographic payments with the Pax Dollar (USDP) stablecoin in the United States.