Instagram aims to add NFT integration for several NFT platforms, including Ethereum, Polygon, Flow and Solana. Adam Mosseri, head of Instagram, announced the platform’s plans for NFT integration via a video on Twitter.
NFTs get set for the masses
NFTs or non-fungible tokens are unique units of data that represent a digital asset such as an image and are used to provide proof of ownership. Non-fungible tokens are currently a lucrative market, with Bored Apes being one of the most popular and best known collections.
It’s not surprising that Instagram is integrating with NFT platforms considering it’s an image-centric platform. Users will now be able to connect whatever cryptocurrency wallet they use to Instagram. After connecting to a cryptocurrency wallet, users will be able to buy and sell NFTs through the platform.
In the Twitter video announcement, Mosseri explains that creators are essential to Instagram’s ecosystem and how the integration can help them earn a living.
“Now we think one really interesting opportunity for a subset of creators is NFTs. The idea of owning a unique digital item,” says Mosseri in the video. “So, what we’re starting with this week is the ability for creators and people to share NFTs that they’ve made or that they’ve bought, either in Feed or in Stories or in messaging.”
Instagram hopes to bring Web 3 technologies to a broader range of consumers. For now, however, NFT integration will only be available to a limited number of creators. Instagram first wants to learn from the community before expanding access to NFT integration. This is due to the potential tension between Instagram as a centralized platform and the decentralized nature of NFTS.
“We want to make sure that we work out how to embrace those tenets of distributed trust and distributed power, despite the fact that we are, yes, a centralized platform.” Says Mosseri.
Jack Brassell is a freelance journalist and aspiring novelist. Jack is a self-proclaimed nerd with a lifelong passion for storytelling. As an author, Jack writes mostly horror and young adult fantasy. Also an avid gamer, she works as the lead news editor at Hardcore Droid. When she isn't writing or playing games, she can often be found binge-watching Parks & Rec or The Office, proudly considering herself to be a cross between Leslie Knope and Pam Beasley.
