In December 2021, the CEO of Instagram, Adam Mosseri, discussed how the firm was looking into non-fungible token (NFT) technology during an ask-me-anything (AMA) session. Three months later, at the South by Southwest (SXSW) event in Texas, Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained Instagram plans to introduce NFTs in the “near term.”
Meta CEO Hints NFT Features Are Coming to Instagram
It looks like NFTs are coming to Instagram soon, according to statements from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg at SXSW this week. Zuckerberg spoke with Shark Tank’s Daymond John at the event, and he explained that Instagram users will also be able to create NFTs.
News concerning Instagram’s venture into the NFT world originally stemmed from the company’s CEO ,Adam Mosseri, during an AMA. Furthermore, the news publication the Financial Times (FT) spoke with unnamed sources familiar with the matter at the end of January 2022.
The FT report cites the unnamed sources as saying that Meta and Instagram were discussing “launching a marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs.” Details from Zuckerberg to the Shark Tank co-star indicate that the launch could be sooner than most think. Although Meta’s CEO didn’t share many details, he said, “We’re working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the short term.” Zuckerberg added:
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, and hopefully over time be able to mint things within that environment.
Meta sells Diem IP, company intends to grow with metaverse
Zuckerberg has shown interest in blockchain technology and cryptocurrencies in the past and allegedly his pet goat is called “Bitcoin”. Just recently, Meta’s cryptocurrency project, Diem, was abandoned by the company in order to be sold, and then Diem’s intellectual property (IP) was finally purchased by Silvergate this year.
Facebook also rebranded the social media application’s parent company name to Meta. With help from its subsidiary Oculus and other means, the company intends to bolster the network of 3D virtual worlds called the metaverse.
