Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announces their new name, Meta, during a virtual event in this file photo.( Image credit: AP) Meta Inc (formerly Facebook) is exploring plans to allow users to create, showcase and sell non-fungible-tokens (NFTs) on Facebook and Instagram, according to a recent report by The Financial Times. For the uninitiated, an NFT is a digital asset that uses blockchain technology to record who owns a digital object such as an image, video, or in-game item. While anyone can view the asset in question, only the buyer can say they are the “official” owner.
According to a report by FT, teams at Facebook and Instagram are “readying” a marketplace feature that will allow users to create, and sell NFTs. The plans are currently “at an early stage and could yet change,” Engadget reported.
This development comes after Instagram leader Adam Mosseri said in December that his social network was “actively exploring” NFTs. In an Instagram Q&A posted to his Stories, Mosseri was responding to a question about his thoughts on integrating NFTs into Instagram. He said, “Nothing to announce yet but we are definitely actively exploring NFTs and how we can make them more accessible to a broader audience.” Earlier in October Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg spoke about how the metaverse will need to support “ownership of digital goods or NFTs.”
NFTs, have been gaining support with other established web platforms in recent months. According to Dune analytics, NFTs are shattering monthly trading record, logging $4 billion in monthly sales. OpenSea has seen its monthly trade volume in Ether (ETH) exceed $3.5 billion, breaking all previous records with just two weeks left in January. On Sunday, OpenSea witnessed its trading volume hit an all-time high of $261 million. And in January alone, OpenSea set $169 million in trading volume for each day.
Meanwhile, Reddit launched its own collection of NFT avatars for users, while Twitter recently announced a new way for users to authenticate their profile pictures, fueled by NFTs. The platform now enables users to link any NFT they own to their Twitter account and as proof of authenticity, Twitter will show authentic NFT profile pictures with a new hexagon-shaped mask.
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