Mark Zuckerberg, the Meta Platforms Inc CEO, has announced the integration of Instagram Non-Fungible Tokens (NFT) to 100 countries.
The NTF support is expected to catapult the adoption of NFTs to a significant proportion of the global population. The latest data shows that Meta’s Instagram has over 1.4 billion users globally, which is growing exponentially.
About the Instagram NFT
Instagram users must connect digital wallets such as MetaMask, Rainbow, Coinbase Wallet, Trust Wallet, and Dapper Wallet. Once the integration is complete, a user can transfer an NFT from the private wallet to the Instagram platform.
The Instagram NFT functionality enables users to share and tag both the creator and collector while transferring tokens. The tab is available on the main Instagram feed, messages, or stories.
After a user posts the NFT, the digital collectible will display information such as the description of the token.
Meta confirms that the transactions will be free. However, at the time, only NFTs minted on Ethereum, Flow from Dapper Labs, and Polygon were supported. The company is yet to announce the timeline for accepting Bitcoin NFTs.
The Prototype Has Been Tested
The Instagram NFT commenced in May. Facebook only allowed select users and collectors to participate in the trials as it sought to understand the risks and opportunities of the functionality.
Fast forward to august, the social media giant has unveiled the project and its users in the Americas, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Africa. Europe is pending, given the strict EU environment that governs the use of Digital Assets. The data privacy laws are also bureaucratic and lengthy. Meta is yet to comment on the European issue.
Promoting NFT Investments
Investing in NFTs is a growing wealth maximization strategy along with trading Cryptocurrencies. On the other hand, Stablecoins and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are ideal for e-commerce or hedging against currency devaluation.
Meta’s Instagram NFT support will expand the market for NFTs. This will enable creators of non-fungible tokens for rare collectibles and art to benefit from enhanced access to the market. It will also promote NFTs adoption that trails Crypto due to constrained accessibility.
In the meantime, Twitter, an Instagram rival, also unveiled NFT for profile pictures, the functionality is currently in the trial phase, and only select users can access it. YouTube is also mulling about integrating Web 3.0. support to enable users to make money. Reddit is taking the invention to a new level as it announced NFT support for its Metaverse avatar integration.
On the other hand, e-commerce platforms are increasingly accepting NFTs. eBay recently announced that it would allow NFTs transactions where customers can pay in Crypto. With Instagram emerging as a platform that offers social media e-commerce services, the new solution will compete with eBay at a level ground.