Meta will be “winding down” its efforts with non-fungible tokens (NFTs), focusing instead on other methods to help creators, individuals, and businesses. NFTs are assets tokenized via a blockchain and assigned unique identification codes and metadata to help distinguish them from other tokens.
In a statement posted on Twitter last March 14, Stephane Kasriel, the head of commerce and financial technology at Meta Platforms, Inc., said that they have decided to discontinue integrating NFTs into their social media platforms, Facebook and Instagram.
“To sharpen our focus, we have carefully examined our organizational priorities. So, we’re shutting down digital collectibles (NFTs) for the time being to focus on other methods to help creators, individuals, and businesses,” he said.
The decision means that the company will soon end its tests of minting and selling NFTs on Instagram, while the ability to share NFTs on both Instagram and Facebook could also end quickly.
Formerly known as the Facebook company, Meta has been building technologies to help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. And even though NFTs and digital collectibles were once pitched as part of its ‘metaverse’ future, the company is now moving on from more crypto projects.
In the same Twitter post, Kasriel also thanked the company’s partners “who joined us on this journey and continued doing great work in a dynamic space,” even after learning the news. “Proud of the connections we have created and anticipate helping the numerous NFT creators promote their work on Facebook and Instagram.”
He added that Meta would continue to give priority to, and will develop chances for, online businesses and content creators who want to profit from their communities — further underscoring Meta’s goal of making an impact in the sector.
Varied reactions
The NFT community has responded to this announcement in a variety of ways.
JQCrypto, a Filipino web3 content developer and leader of the group called Crypto Pinas, said that Meta’s action can radically reduce the exposure and impede the uptake of NFTs among regular social media users.
NFT content writer Hunter Solaire, for his part, said that he is optimistic about Meta’s decision since it will give builders more time to develop better products and services. The move will also help them gain more experience while enhancing safety precautions.
According to Wale Swoosh, a researcher at NFT project Azuki, the termination of Meta’s support for NFTs is a confirmation that NFTs on Instagram and Facebook have failed for the time being.
“The instrument would have hardly been terminated if it had been truly successful and well-liked,” he explained.
Millions of NFT users to be affected
Pali Bhat, the chief product officer of Reddit, said that in 2022, more than three million users had created cryptocurrency wallets using Reddit’s Vault blockchain wallet, 2.5 million of which were used to buy Reddit NFT avatars.
As a result, Reddit generated more active wallets than OpenSea, the largest NFT marketplace.
Besides just Facebook and Instagram, NFTs have now also been included in other major social media sites. They are now permitted for use as a profile picture on Twitter, where the majority of web3 communities are located.
Even Elon Musk, owner of Twitter who is also known as the “DOGE Father” for his support to Dogecoin, has announced at the beginning of this year that he will push for the transformation of his social media brand into a payments platform.
Twitter will be using fiat currencies at first before eventually incorporating cryptocurrency capability later on.