Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Instagram’s parent company Meta, confirmed Tuesday that NFTs will be coming to the social network Instagram. Zuckerberg made the announcement at the SXSW conference, but did not provide a specific date when NFTs might drop on Instagram.
At #SXSW, Mark Zuckerberg just said that “hopefully” in the coming months you’ll be able to mint NFTs within Instagram
— Casey Newton (@CaseyNewton) March 15, 2022
During his speech, Zuckerberg said he hopes one day users will be able to mint their digital avatars’ clothing as NFTs, but admitted there’s still work to do before that happens.
Zuckerberg at #SXSW
— Hannah Murphy (@MsHannahMurphy) March 15, 2022
– says that he hopes avatar clothing in the metaverse will be minted as NFTs
– there’s “a bunch of technical things” to be worked out first
– they’re working on bringing NFT’s to Instagram “in the near term” (confirms our earlier scoop)https://t.co/ZX6PVjw4O8
This is not Zuckerberg’s first foray into blockchain technology. In 2019, he was the first to attempt to create his own stablecoin, known as Balance, and then Diem, that initiative ultimately failed. Meta eventually sold the crypto-currency company in January for $200 million, and Zuckerberg’s remarks on NFTs indicate that he is looking for success in the blockchain space.
In January, the Financial Times reported that Meta had discussed launching an NFT marketplace, but that all discussions were still in the early stages. And in 2021, Zuckerberg also mentioned that his planned metaverse would be ideal for supporting digital assets and conquering the Internet of Things (IoT).
The NFT market has exploded over the past year, with more than $23 billion exchanged in 2021, according to data from DappRadar. In the last 30 days alone, OpenSea, one of the largest NFT marketplaces, has seen more than $2 billion in volume, according to DappRadar.
Find out more about NFTs in our Academy article.
