Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has announced it is winding down its support for non-fungible tokens (NFTs) on both platforms.
Meta’s head of commerce and financial technologies, Stephane Kasriel, confirmed on Twitter that the company was ending the tests for minting and selling NFTs on Instagram and that it would soon be stopping support for sharing NFTs on Instagram and Facebook.
The move follows CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s drive to make 2023 the “year of efficiency”. The company is instead looking to focus on areas where it can make an impact at scale such as messaging and monetization on Reels and improving Meta Pay.
The decision to end support for NFTs follows the shutdowns of the Meta-backed cryptocurrency Diem and Meta’s Novi digital wallet last year.
Meta began testing its NFT feature in May 2022, allowing select platform users to display their NFTs.
By September, the company had opened up support for the feature in 100 countries, before allowing a small group of US creators to mint and sell NFTs on the Polygon blockchain directly from its platforms in November.
But now the company is “winding down” digital collectibles (NFTs) to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. Despite ending support for NFTs, Meta is continuing to invest in cryptocurrencies and plans to keep an eye on crypto for the long term.
Meta has been cutting costs across the company as it seeks to make its metaverse dreams a (virtual) reality.
Reality Labs, the division of Meta that works on AR and VR products, lost $13.7 billion last year. In November, Meta laid off 11,000 employees, or about 13% of its global workforce, marking the largest cuts in company history.
While Meta is exiting NFTs, other companies such as Reddit, Starbucks, and Sesame Street are still entering the market that collapsed in 2022 after stratospheric levels of hype in early 2021.
Reddit is promoting its “digital collectible” avatars that are NFTs, Starbucks recently sold out a selection of 2,000 $100 NFTs in its Odyssey customer loyalty program, and Sesame Street just announced an NFT collaboration.
The move by Meta has sparked questions about the future of NFTs and whether they will survive without the support of large social media platforms. It has also led to speculation about the future direction of Meta and its metaverse plans.
Meta’s decision to end support for NFTs on Facebook and Instagram may come as a surprise to some, as the company had been exploring potential use cases for NFTs within its metaverse vision.
However, Meta has been focusing on improving its messaging and monetization capabilities, which may have taken priority over the development of NFTs.
Despite their initial hype, the NFT market has faced challenges in recent times, with a decline in interest and value. This may have played a role in Meta’s decision to shift its focus away from NFTs and toward other areas.
Meta’s decision to end support for NFTs on Facebook and Instagram may also have implications for the broader cryptocurrency market. As one of the largest technology companies in the world, Meta’s actions can have a significant impact on the perception and adoption of cryptocurrencies.
Meta’s decision to end support for NFTs on Facebook and Instagram reflects the company’s changing priorities and a shifting market landscape for digital collectibles.
While NFTs may not have been the success that some had hoped for, it remains to be seen what the future holds for this nascent industry.