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UPDATE 5/10/2022 4:12 PM ET: It’s official, NFTs are now live on Instagram. The company is testing digital collectibles for creators and collectors to showcase NFTs on Instagram. NFTs allow creators to take control over their work, fanbase, and income. The original story follows below.
NFTs are everywhere right now, and now you won’t be able to escape them by indulging in retail therapy on Instagram. Speaking at SXSW yesterday, CEO Mark Zuckerberg told us that NFTs are coming to the social platform.
During his “Into the Metaverse: Creators, Commerce, and Connection” session, Zuckerberg announced the news. What he didn’t say is what form NFTs on the platform will take.
NFTs are digital assets that live on the blockchain. Really, the only new thing here is the blockchain records of ownership, as digital collectibles have been here since the Tamagotchi.
Think of them as digital trading cards with attached ownership history and you’re not far off.
READ MORE: Facebook NFTs now open to a few US creators
READ MORE: Here’s what NFTs on Instagram will look like
The Meta CEO floated multiple options for NFT inclusion. Those included the ability to create, or ‘mint’, NFTs; possibly as avatar clothing, or the ability to bring some of your existing NFTs into the platform.
Will Instagram add the ability to use NFTs as your profile picture? That would match other social sites’ use of the tech.
Zuckerberg wants to take that concept further, with digital assets that can be used between all of your “places” in his vision of the metaverse.
Zuckerberg did mention that “a bunch of technical things [need] to be worked out” before that metaverse-spanning tech is possible.
READ MORE: Spotify could be entering the NFT world
It’s still possible it might not happen, as with the Libra cryptocurrency that Facebook tried to create, eventually selling off the assets earlier this year.
Have any thoughts on this? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.
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