Widely used social media platform Instagram has a coming NFT integration, part of Meta’s push to align its own products and services with the emerging Web3 space. The pilot for this new integration is reportedly coming as early as Monday.
NFTs on Instagram
This week we’re beginning to test digital collectibles with a handful of US creators and collectors who will be able to share NFTs on Instagram. There will be no fees associated with posting or sharing a digital collectible on IG.
See you next week!
pic.twitter.com/VuJbMVSBDr
— Adam Mosseri (@mosseri) May 9, 2022
As reported by CoinDesk over the weekend that Instagram is looking to directly add support from multiple blockchain / NFT platforms, including the following; Ethereum, Solana, Polygon, and Flow. Today, Instagram head Adam Mosseri confirmed the news on a Twitter video, with Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also posting: “This week we’re starting to test digital collectibles on Instagram so creators and collectors can display their NFTs on their profile.”
Web3 Coming to Instagram
This Instagram upgrade will feature true web3 connectivity, with users being able to connect their own cryptocurrency wallets like MetaMask. This, in theory, will create a seamless process that will allow users to showcase their own NFT collections, verify their ownership, and even tag creators.
With a user base of one billion individuals and a dominant focus on art & aesthetics, the move for Instagram and Meta to utilize the platform for NFTs comes as no surprise.
Twitter’s integration with NFTs back in January generated conversation as users were able to upload and connect their NFTs to showcase as their profile pictures.
Of course, users must be subscribed to Twitter via Twitter Blue to have access to these features. Instagram will reportedly not charge users to link their NFTs, an improvement on the feature versus Twitter.
Questions have arisen about the security of such an integration with Instagram, as just last month it was reported that the Bored Ape Yacht Club (BAYC) official Instagram account was hacked and exploited. This led to the theft of $2.8 million USD in NFTs.
This emerging NFT pilot on Instagram has been hinted at by Mark Zuckerberg to be the first step in also launching minting and sharing options on Meta’s other platform Facebook. For continued updates on all the latest Web3 news, keep reading gmw3.