Instagram plans to integrate non-fungible tokens (NFTs) from top platforms such as Solana, Ethereum Flow, and Polygon, Coindesk reported. The social media platform is expected to announce a pilot scheme as soon as Monday.
According to the report, the platform will focus on a select group of NFT enthusiasts in the United States. It’s unclear if Instagram will support NFTs from all networks during the pilot. The platform will also not charge users for viewing their NFTs.
The pilot comes almost two months after Mark Zuckerberg first announced that Instagram would add NFTs. At the South by Southwest conference in Austin, Texas, Zuckerberg told Daymon John of Shark Tank that Meta is “working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term.”
It has also been confirmed that Instagram will support popular crypto wallets like MetaMask. This will be necessary given that users will need to connect their wallets to the platform before posting NFTs on their profile and proving their ownership. They will also be able to tag the creators of the NFTs.
This integration is expected to increase the adoption of NFTs as it’ll further boost the number of people who have access to NFTs. So far, Twitter is the only social media platform that has fully integrated NFTs.
Reddit recently also had an NFT integration pilot, and YouTube is letting its creators explore the tech features. But with around a billion monthly active users, Instagram would bring NFTs to a new category of audience.
Meta Steps up Crypto Integration
Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has also revealed other plans which are focused on taking advantage of blockchain technology. The company’s decision to rebrand from Facebook to Meta last year has led to increased corporate interest in the metaverse.
Reportedly, the company plans to enable typing and joining groups on Facebook later this year. He also claims that Meta intends to create a virtual currency called Zuck Bucks.
But its crypto-related developments aren’t the only reason it has been in the news recently. Meta is also facing several lawsuits related to the infringement of trademark and failure to deal with crypto scammers on its platforms.
