Meta shuts down NFT support on Facebook and Instagram
Instead, the company will focus on monetizing Reels and developing Meta Pay
Meta announced NFT testing last spring for some creators on its own social networks. By July, the company had expanded support for non-fungible tokens for Instagram users to 100 countries, and now it has decided to abandon the feature.
Instead, Meta will redirect its investments from NFTs to the development of its own digital wallet, Meta Pay, as well as features that will help creators earn money on the platforms, such as a tipping feature called “gifts” and monetization in Reels.
“We are reprioritizing. We are currently winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and companies,” said Stefan Kasriel, Head of Commerce and Financial Technology at Meta.
In the coming weeks, Meta will stop minting and selling NFTs on Instagram, as well as eliminate the ability to share NFTs on Instagram and Facebook.
Some product news: across the company, we're looking closely at what we prioritize to increase our focus. We’re winding down digital collectibles (NFTs) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people, and businesses. 🧵[1/5]
— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) March 13, 2023
The integration of non-fungible tokens along with the Reels Play bonus program seems to have fallen victim to Mark Zuckerberg’s plans to make 2023 the “year of efficiency.” Earlier, the company shut down the Meta-backed cryptocurrency Diem (formerly Libra) and the Novi digital wallet.
Instead, other companies have stepped up their efforts to develop NFTs and are rushing to join the market, which crashed in 2022 and lost billions after a strong hype in early 2021. Reddit continues to promote its own “digital collectibles” NFT avatars, Starbucks sold 2000 of its own NFTs for $100 as part of the Odyssey loyalty program, and others are applying for trademarks to sell products digitally and provide services in the meta-universe.
Meta’s NFTs were also intended to become an important part of the meta-universe, in which the company continues to invest heavily. The Reality Labs division, which works on AR and VR products, lost $13.7 billion last year.
