Meta to expand NFT feature to select Facebook, Instagram users this week

Less than a month after the debut of its digital wallet integration, Meta will allow select creators and NFT collectors to post their digital assets on both Facebook and Instagram.

Meta released the update on Monday, announcing that select US-based users will be able to connect their digital wallets and share NFTs (non-fungible tokens) on the company’s two main social media platforms starting this week.

Earlier this month, Meta said creators and businesses in around 100 countries across Africa, Asia-Pacific, the Middle East and the Americas would be able to share their NFTs on Instagram.

At the time of that announcement, Meta supported connections with several third-party wallets, including MetaMask and Coinbase Wallet. The tech giant also said it supports three blockchains: Polygon, Ethereum and Flow.

Meta first revealed its plans to expand into the NFT space in May 2022. The technology company said it will use public blockchain data to verify what collectibles owners and creators have.

“It is critical that our early efforts in this area empower diverse voices and that underrepresented groups have access to new digital assets such as NFTs,” the company said in the announcement. “By building support for NFTs, we aim to improve accessibility, reduce barriers to entry and help make the NFT space more inclusive for all communities.”

The update comes one month after Meta revealed it has lost $5.7 billion building out its metaverse unit so far in 2022. In the second quarter of the year, the company posted its first-ever revenue decline, missing analysts’ expectations.

“This is obviously a very expensive undertaking over the next few years,” Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said in June during the company’s earnings call. “But as the metaverse becomes more important in every part of how we live from our social platforms and entertainment to work and education and commerce, I’m sure we’re going to be glad we played an important role in building this.”

Meta shares traded down 0.6% on Monday following the announcement. So far this year, the stock has lost 53%. Analysts surveyed by MarketBeat assigned Meta a “moderate buy” rating on Monday with an estimated upside of 56.9%.

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