Shubham Sawarkar
Meta is dramatically expanding its support for NFTs. Meta announced during its Creator Week event that the company is now allowing some creators in the US to make and sell digital collectibles directly on Instagram.
Since last year, the platform has been experimenting with NFTs on Instagram and Facebook. However, Instagram users have previously only been able to display their digital collectibles. Instagram will now have an “end-to-end toolkit” for creators to create and sell NFT collections to their fans and followers.
Since Instagram has been ramping up commerce features for creatures for some time, this is the first time Instagram has attempted to compete directly with existing NFT marketplaces. Meta claims it will not take a cut of NFT sales until 2024, though App Store fees will be deducted at 30%. Creators can also set a commission rate ranging from 5% to 25% for the resale of their work.
For the time being, the new tools are only available to a “small group” of creators in the United States, but Meta plans to expand to more people and countries “soon.” However, the company is updating more widely available NFT features. Meta is adding support for the Solana blockchain and Phantom wallet for collectors, as well as enabling video NFTs in Instagram profiles. In addition, the app is adding OpenSea metadata for “select collections.”
The expansion of NFTs on Instagram is part of Meta’s larger push to increase revenue-generating features for creators in its apps. Instagram subscriptions are also being expanded, as is Facebook’s “professional mode.” Meta is also expanding Facebook Stars to include photo and text posts, as well as adding in-app gifting to Reels on Instagram.
