Instagram jumps into NFTs with coining and selling feature

Meta’s Instagram will soon allow artists to create and sell their own NFTs both right on the social media platform and outside of it.

Why it matters: Big Tech wants in on crypto, and social media’s entry into NFTs points to increasing competition between marketplaces despite declining trading volumes and falling prices.

Driving the news: IG’s feature will roll out to a small group of select creators in the US to start, according to Meta.

• The first creators tapped to test the feature included photographer Isaac “Drift” Wright, known as DrifterShoots, and artist Amber Vittoria.

What they say: “My hope is that this feature allows artists to explore web3 more,” Vittoria told Axios via Twitter DM.

Details: Meta will not charge fees for posting or sharing an NFT on IG, but app store fees still apply.

• Separately, there will be a “professional mode” for Facebook profiles where creators can build a social media presence separate from their personal one.
• The intrigue: Artist royalties appear to be part of the plan.

Between the lines: Minting or creation of NFTs on IG will start on Polygon, a boon for the layer-2 blockchain (a separate blockchain built on top of Ethereum) given the potential onboarding of IG’s billions of active users.

• The price of Polygon’s token MATIC jumped 17% from Wednesday night to Thursday morning, boosted by IG news but also because JPMorgan conducted its first live DeFi trade using that blockchain.

What’s next: Here’s what we know about Instagram’s plans for NFTs:

• The platform adds support for Solana blockchain and Phantom wallet with the latest feature update, adding them to the list of already supported wallets such as MetaMask, Coinbase Wallet, Dapper Wallet, Rainbow and Trust Wallet.
• Ethereum and Flow blockchains are already supported.
• Info for selected collections with OpenSea metadata, such as collection name and description, will be displayed on IG.

The big picture: IG isn’t the only social store entering the mix. Reddit’s second NFT collection has defied crypto winter trends, rolling out “blockchain-backed collectible avatars” in July.

• Twitter is also improving its NFT capabilities, announcing a connection to marketplaces like Magic Eden days ago.
• Earlier this year, the firm allowed “Twitter Blue” users — subscribers who pay a monthly fee for special features — the ability to use NFTs as profile pictures. ((New owner Elon Musk has previously criticised the profile pictures as “annoying.”)

Flashback: The rollout of features is a continuation of Meta’s foray into what it calls “digital collectibles,” which began with a test announced in May.

The bottom line: “At Meta, we’re looking at what creators are already doing across our technologies to improve their experience, help them create more revenue opportunities, and bring NFTs to a wider audience,” the firm said in a blog post at the time.