Instagram is seeking a path to add NFTs across its platform and its estimated two billion active members while its mother firm Meta is foraying deeper into the metaverse. NFTs are traded online, are often linked to a cryptocurrency, and are usually stored on a blockchain.
Public interest in them skyrocketed in 2021. Their total sales jumped to $12 billion this year, in part because big brands like Nike are getting into NFTs and virtual worlds.
Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri said this weekend that he is working on developing features that incorporate NFTs. Mosseri in an Instagram story posted Saturday: “No announcements at the moment, but we certainly are aggressively pursuing NFTs as well as figuring out exactly how we might be able to successfully introduce them to a larger public audience. I do believe it’s an exciting space to be a part of and also hopefully a means to assist some talented people. “
During his weekly AMA @mosseri has confirmed #Instagram is actively exploring #NFTs and how they can make them more accessible to a broader audience 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/kF6Foi1Bx9
— Alessandro Paluzzi (@alex193a) December 18, 2021
Reports of Instagram’s work on NFTs were circulating earlier this year. App developer Alessandro Paluzzi shared details in June about the possibility of Instagram launching its own NFTs as the platform considered working on collectibles. According to Paluzzi’s tweets, Instagram posts that feature NFTs may have a tag titled “Collectible” to inform users of the NFT they have purchased. However, the platform has not confirmed these details.
Mosseri also mentioned some new features such as B. Profile Integrations, which expand the ability to embed photos and videos in user profiles. This could also be related to “collectibles” where users want to display their NFT as a profile picture, as many already do on Twitter. The NFT scene is still very active at the end of the year. According to data from Nonfungible, an industry tracking website, it had brought in $335 million as of last week.
