Instagram’s parent company, Meta, stated Wednesday that it is working on an NFT minting and selling functionality for its platform. The future “end-to-end toolset” for NFTs will enable users to design and sell their own NFTs on Instagram.
In a statement, Meta’s Head of Commerce and Fintech Stephane Kasriel said: “A small group of creators will soon be able to create digital collectibles (NFTs) and sell them right on Instagram.”
NFTs, also known as “digital collectibles” by Meta, are one-of-a-kind blockchain tokens that represent ownership of an object, often a piece of digital art.
Instagram will leverage the Polygon blockchain for NFT minting at launch. The software will also get NFT information from OpenSea in order to display collection names and descriptions on Instagram.
According to a corporate release, Meta will initially roll out the new NFT capabilities to a limited set of artists and content producers before making them available to a wider public. Among those chosen for early access to the new Instagram NFT features are photographer DrifterShoots, visual artist Ilse Valfré, and artist Amber Vittoria.
This gradual deployment plan is consistent with Meta’s overall approach to Web3. It stated in May that it will be rolling out a wallet connection function that would allow chosen producers to show their NFTs on their Instagram and Facebook pages.
Today, Facebook and Instagram enable users can link their wallets to their accounts in order to show NFTs on the Ethereum, Polygon, and Flow blockchains. Solana and Phantom wallets will be supported in the near future.
Why is there such a tremendous push for NFT? Meta says it believes in the Web3 goal and encourages content providers to use NFTs to better commercialize their work.
Kasriel said that Facebook’s strategy for Web3 technologies—including blockchain—is focused on helping creators make a living. He believes Web3 tech like blockchain will positively enhance the economic model for creators by giving them the ability to create new types of digital assets to monetize, but there needs to be a much simpler user experience.
Meta will not charge a fee for sales of NFTs made through its applications. However, it is planning to institute fees in the future. In addition, Meta has promised to cover Ethereum gas fees for buyers “at launch,” though it did not specify an end date for this benefit.
Kasriel said Meta won’t charge fees to create or sell digital collectibles until 2024, but added that any in-app transactions “are still subject to applicable app store fees” such as Apple’s controversial 30% tax.
What’s uncertain is whether customers would leap for the ease of an in-app Instagram NFT purchase—and if Instagram’s NFT capabilities will eventually make their way to the internet version of its site.
