Snap explores plans to let users display NFTs as filters

Snap is exploring plans to allow users to display non-fungible tokens on their app, as social media platforms increasingly target digital collectibles as a means of attracting influencers and their fans despite cryptocurrency.

The Los Angeles-based social media platform is preparing to test a feature that will allow NFT artists to showcase their designs on the Snapchat platform as augmented reality filters, according to two people familiar with the situation.

The test, which is run by a handful of “creators”, is scheduled to begin in late August, one of the people said.

Snap has built a list of developers who use their platform to create playful AR filters for users, known as Lenses, which can be applied to real-world images.

Developers will be able to create, or create, NFTs via a third-party service outside the platform, before being transferred to Snap as Lenses. Technology will ensure that these filters can be attributed to that creator.

While the NFT effort is at an early stage, it marks the first entry into the freewheeling world of digital assets for Snap, which offers private messaging and cute picture features to its largely millennial and younger generation Z audience.

Social media companies are increasingly competing to attract online talent, in the hope of increasing broader user numbers and engagement in the face of increasing competition from newer Chinese-owned player TikTok.

Snap has no plans to charge creators to showcase NFTs, one person said, but it is exploring partnerships with third parties that can help creators monetize their designs.

Snap rival Meta in particular plans to roll out access to digital collectibles to its 3 billion users over time as part of luring creators to their apps, fintech chief Stephane Kasriel told the Financial Times last week. It hopes to build an online avatar-filled world known as metaverse, where users will use NFTs to create and shop digital goods and services, Kasriel said. Meanwhile, minor rival Reddit on Thursday announced plans to launch its own NFT avatar collection.

NFTs use blockchain technology to certify the authenticity and ownership of digital art and merchandise.

Digital collectibles exploded in popularity last year and became a global market worth $ 40 billion, primarily used as a tool for retail speculation. But as hype has waned, prices have fallen in line with a wider route of cryptocurrencies over the past two months.

Like other social media groups, Snap has invested in new features to help creators earn a living directly from the platform. This has included sharing some of the revenue it generates from advertising with certain influencers and offering cash prizes for top performing posts, for example.