It seems NFTs are coming to Instagram soon, according to statements from Meta’s 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 be able to mint NFTs as well.
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.
FT’s report quotes the unnamed sources who said both Meta and Instagram are conversing about “launching a marketplace for users to buy and sell NFTs.” Zuckerberg’s details to the Shark Tank co-star indicate the launch might be sooner than most think. While the Meta CEO did not share many details, he said: “We are working on bringing NFTs to Instagram in the near term.”
Instagram wouldn’t be the only social media platform where NFTs are involved. Twitter is known for allowing Twitter Blue subscribers to use their NFTs as profile pictures. But so far, the minting part is still not accessible, which could make Instagram the first to possibly do so.
In December, Head of Instagram Adam Mosseri confirmed that the company was “actively exploring” NFTs with the goal of bringing the technology to a wider audience. “I think it’s an interesting place that we can play and also to hopefully help creators,” Mosseri said in an Instagram story.
Those plans were already in the works: Last summer, Instagram hosted creator week an invite-only virtual summit that the company characterized as a “private event for NFT creators” in its invitations.
Instagram’s interest in NFTs dovetails with parent company Meta’s broader vision of a lucrative interactive virtual world filled with digital goods. “I would hope that the clothing that your avatar is wearing in the Metaverse can be minted as an NFT and you can take it between different places,” Zuckerberg said.
While the company’s NFT plans aren’t much of a departure for anyone who’s been tracking Meta’s aspirations, the integration might be a lot to stomach for some creators averse to the technology.
“I’m not ready to kind of announce exactly what that’s going to be today. But over the next several months, the ability to bring some of your NFTs in, hopefully over time be able to mint things within that environment,” he said at the event as quoted by the report.
Zuckerberg further added that NFTs might play a role in the company’s metaverse someday. The clothing that a user’s avatar will be wearing in the metaverse can be basically minted as an NFT and can be taken between different places, suggested Zuckerberg.