NFTs will be available on Instagram shortly. Mark Zuckerberg stated that digital artifacts would be coming to Instagram “in the near term” while speaking at SXSW.
“We’re working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term,” he said. He didn’t go into specifics about how it would work, but he did say that individuals would be able to show off their current NFTs and maybe mint new ones.
“I’m not ready to announce exactly what that’s going to be today. But over the next several months, the ability to bring some of your NFTs in, hopefully over time be able to mint things within that environment.”
NFTs had already piqued the curiosity of Zuckerberg and other executives, with Instagram’s senior executive Adam Mosseri stating that the firm was “actively researching” the technology. The Financial Times reported that the business hoped to include NFTs into its crypto wallet Novi in January.
Mark Zuckerberg envisions NFTs as a part of everyday activities
NFTs might one day play a part in the company’s future metaverse, according to Zuckerberg, who spoke on Tuesday. “I’d hope that the apparel that your avatar wears in the metaverse can be basically minted as an NFT, and you can transport it between your different places,” he added.
“There’s like several technical stuff that needs to be sorted out before it can truly be smooth to happen.”
Zuckerberg, famed for wearing the same gray t-shirt every day, also said he now shops mainly on Instagram and Facebook. “I probably bought most of the items I wear through Instagram, Facebook Shops, or advertisements,” he explained.
Zuckerberg’s comments back up a January story from the Financial Times that Meta was looking at bringing NFTs to Instagram.
Both Facebook and Instagram were in the midst of the building and “readying” features that would enable users to show NFTs as profile images, as well as a prototype system that would allow users to mint new NFTs on either site at the time.
Although Mark did not comment on this specific feature of NFTs, there appears to be internal debate about establishing a marketplace for users to purchase and trade NFTs.
Last December, Instagram CEO Adam Mosseri stated that NFTs were an “interesting arena” in which Instagram might actively participate to “support creators.”