Meta plots entry into red hot NFT market
Meta is reportedly working on plans to let users create and sell non-fungible tokens as the global market for digital collectibles heats up.
Facebook and Instagram are developing a feature that will let users display NFTs on their social media profiles as well as creating the tokens, the FT first reported. Sources told the FT that Meta has even considered launching a marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs.
Meta is not the first social media platform to cash in on the popularity of non-fungible tokens.
Rival social media giant Twitter is testing its own NFT showcasing capabilities, while Reddit has launched a collection of NFT avatars.
Following an explosion in the NFT market last year, which attracted $40bn of investment, the practice of social media influencers changing their display picture to display digital artworks has become commonplace.
Jimmy Fallon, Eminem and DJ Khaled have all jumped on the bandwagon by purchasing an NFT from the Bored Ape Yacht Club, a collection of garish, cartoon pictures of monkeys which have a floor price of $244k.
Meta teased plans to introduce NFTs to the platform last year, when he announced that Facebook would create its own metaverse, a virtual reality space where social media users can interact as digital avatars.
In Ocotber, Facebook’s head of metaverse products, Vishal Shah said that the Metaverse will provide people with opportunities to create and sell NFT-based products. According to Shah the metaverse “will make it easier for people to sell Limited Edition digital objects like NFTs, display them in their digital spaces and even resell them to the next person securely.”
“Our goal is to provide a way for as many players as possible to build a business in the metaverse,” Shah said.
Meta is yet to confirm the news that it is developing NFT features for Instagram and Facebook.
Read more: Facebook to spend at least $10bn on metaverse division