Meta abandons NFTs on Facebook and Instagram
- Meta Platforms Inc is discontinuing its embrace of NFTs on its platforms.
- Although a setback, the NFT ecosystem is considered to be thriving considering its widespread adoption.
American multinational technology giant Meta Platforms Inc is abandoning its Non-Fungible Token (NFT) program to focus on other aspects of the company that can best support creators. As reported by The Verge, the update was first shared by the company’s trading and fintech head Stephane Kasriel and has been confirmed by company spokesperson Joshua Gunter.
Some product news: across the company, we’re taking a hard look at our priorities to increase our focus. We are discontinuing digital collectibles (NFT) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people and businesses. 🧵[1/5]
— Stephane Kasriel (@skasriel) March 13, 2023
Meta Platform’s entry into the crypto ecosystem was marked by the now defunct Diem stablecoin project. The project was first branded as Libra, but after many crackdowns from regulators and lawmakers, the firm had to change its name to Diem in December 2020. Although the project failed to introduce the stablecoin for payments it envisioned, it managed to float the Novi Wallet that can support digital currencies and NFTs.
Meta was one of the top tech giants that first pioneered its entry into the multi-billion dollar crypto world. Without many successes recorded, the firm has had to sell the assets of his Diem project to Silvergate Bank for $182 million back in January 2022. In the broad series of uncertainties related to the crypto world, Silvergate is also voluntarily winding down its business after perceived accounting failures.
Meta Platforms became the delight of many Web3.0 followers when they announced support for NFTs on Instagram and the flagship application Facebook. The launch of these NFT features was widely accepted by the crypto community, with many hoping that it will create access for the billions of monthly active users that the firm boasts to enter the NFT ecosystem.
Although the features are limited to some specific regions at the time of launch, several users liked the idea of the company launch the product in their own jurisdiction.
Meta NFTs stop before they start
In less than a year since going all out on the NFTs integration campaign, Meta Platforms is stopping the push even before it even started. The halt is now considered one of the major headwinds the firm is facing in its metaverse pursuit of the accrued losses it generated from the unit handling the transition to the new world in recent quarters.
For Meta, the focus is now changing.
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“Across the company, we are looking carefully at our priorities to increase our focus,” Kasriel said. “We are discontinuing digital collectibles (NFT) for now to focus on other ways to support creators, people and businesses.” Instead, the company is focusing on “areas where we can make an impact at scale,” such as messaging and monetization on wheels and on improving Meta Pay.
Meta Platforms remains one of the biggest Web2.0 giants that has the inclination to help raise awareness into the Web3.0 world. Although it did not indicate whether it will return to NFTs in the near future, this is a major setback for the industry, but we cannot say that this is the end for NFTs as a whole.
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